


In Which the Story Continues: a group RP story adaptation

by blueberryhope, chamomilecanary, LunellaFandoms, magiaburst, SquiddlesScribbles, Tomoyo Ichijouji (TomoyoIchijouji)



Category: Princess Tutu
Genre: Collaboration, Gen, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, Original Character-centric, Post-Canon, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 110
Words: 198,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21654520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueberryhope/pseuds/blueberryhope, https://archiveofourown.org/users/chamomilecanary/pseuds/chamomilecanary, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunellaFandoms/pseuds/LunellaFandoms, https://archiveofourown.org/users/magiaburst/pseuds/magiaburst, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquiddlesScribbles/pseuds/SquiddlesScribbles, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomoyoIchijouji/pseuds/Tomoyo%20Ichijouji
Summary: When a humble cafe appears suddenly in the town of Kinkan, it sets off a chain of events that brings a group of strangers together in a whimsical tale of magic and intrigue.  Post-series, based on a running RP transcript.
Relationships: Ahiru | Duck/Fakir (Princess Tutu), Mytho/Rue (Princess Tutu)
Kudos: 4





	1. In Which The Heroes Chat in a New Cafe

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Blackout - Between Reality and Fiction](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16332344) by [magiaburst](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magiaburst/pseuds/magiaburst). 
  * Inspired by [Princess Tutu: Chapter of the Bird](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3299540) by [Tomoyo Ichijouji (TomoyoIchijouji)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomoyoIchijouji/pseuds/Tomoyo%20Ichijouji). 



> The following story is adapted from a running transcript of a Princess Tutu-based RP, with the simple initial premise of a new cafe suddenly appearing in post-series Kinkan Town. It takes place approximately a year after the end of the canon series, and integrates the canons of various fan characters into one continuity, including OCs from the previously existing fanfics of "Blackout" by Burst, and "Chapter of the Bird" by Tomoyo Ichijouji. The former fanfic's iteration of its OCs is a separate continuity, but the OCs from the latter are from after the fic's events, and thus here is your spoiler warning for that entire fanfic as well as the end of the canon series. =P
> 
> While most of the OCs are natives of the post-canon universe of the RP, there are a few characters who are visitors from a different universe, or even a different timeline. The canon characters are written collectively by the various RPers, switching at any given time depending on the scene, and the OCs are each played by their respective creators.
> 
> Original characters who are introduced in this first chapter are:  
> \- Lytha (created by Seraphina)  
> \- Evanee (created by Tjsmar)  
> \- Apollo Bare (a recurring NPC who is not tied to a particular creator, but was introduced by blueberryhope)

As the cafe's front door opened with a ring, a large white polar bear greeted the ginger-haired young lady who had just came in from outside. "Welcome to the Book Cafe Pizzeria~! Please take a seat and one of us will be right with you."

Evanee rushed up next to the polar bear. "Yes, yes, Lytha, please come in!"

"Oh, cool," Lytha said, sitting at a window seat. "So this is your new workplace, Evanee?"

At the side wall, there were chalkboards with menu items that Lytha could decide from. At the drinks corner, there were the usual coffee, espresso, lattes, Frappuccino's, teas, and tea lattes. But there were also unusual options such as drip coffee, cherry coffees, lemonades, Arnold Palmers, fruit smoothies, MKT coffee, sodas, suicide pops, and the House Special.

On the side of the menus, there was a note reading: _Coffee brewed fresh daily! Menu subject to change by the day, season, trend, and supplies. If you would like a particular item, please ask the staff and they will happily make it for you!_

Evanee looked out the window at people passing by. "I wonder if any more will come in..."

"Excuse me," Lytha said as she raised her hand to get Evanee's attention.

Evanee turned around. "Oh, yes?"

"Can I get a cinnamon coffee?"

"Yes of course, I'll get that right away for you," Evanee said, rushing to the counter while Lytha went back to reading her small book.

The door was pushed open again, though this time the guest Fakir made a beeline to a table for two in the middle.

Evanee delivered Lytha's cinnamon coffee to her table and turned to Fakir. "Hel--oh my god, it's you."

"Thank you," Lytha said as she sips on her coffee. She also saw Fakir and waved at him.

Fakir looked quizzically at the waitress and soon contorted his face into a scowl. "What?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, well, you see, I'm your--"

Fakir completely ignored the girl waving at him, because he couldn't for the life of him remember who she was.

Just then, the door swung open and Ahiru stepped in.

 _And again he never remembers anyone but Ahiru_ _..._ Lytha saw Ahiru and waved at her. "Hi, Ahiru!"

Ahiru spotted Fakir and waved a little frantically, hopping over to sit in the seat across from him, before spotting Lytha. "Oh, hi Lytha, how are you today?"

"I'm fine, how about you?"

Evanee, still a little starstruck, pointed to the counter. "I'm just gonna.... I'm gonna go... over.... there."

Fakir was trying to play it cool b/c social situations, man. Was the waitress in the same class as him?

"Pretty good!" Ahiru said. "Welll... actually, I had a hard time finding this place. Fakir said it was new, but I don't remember there ever being any new places in town, so I thought he might have been trying to get rid of me, so then I thought, is it the place I always see Mr. Cat? So I went there and I didn't see him, so I--I'm rambling again, aren't I?"

"Ahiru, tell me what you are going to order so we can get it sooner," Fakir said.

Ahiru smiled. "Oh! I was thinking a strawberry cake, ya know, something sweet!"

Lytha giggled. "I will leave you two alone," Lytha said, and went back to her seat and continued to read her book.

Evanee scooted towards Lytha and sat down across from her, cupping her hand to her mouth. "So, what's he like?"

Mumbling, Lytha pointed to Evanee's hand, asking Evanee to remove it.

"Oh! Sorry." Evanee removed her hand promptly.

"What about you, Fakir, what do you want?" Ahiru asked.

Fakir deadpan looked at Ahiru. "The usual. Black coffee. Like my soul."

Ahiru gaped at him. "Wha.... you don't have to say that so creepy!"

"First, Evanee, you have to serve them their order. I mean, you are the only waitress here," Lytha said.

"Right, rightrightright... I'll be back," Evanee said.

"I was only joking," Fakir said. "I am thinking of getting the House Special... Autor was saying they are usually good, but I'm only ordering out of sheer curiosity."

"Autor?! Huh? What about him?!" Evanee frantically babbled.

"I didn't realize the two of you hung out that much, especially after how mean he was to you, making you turn into an oak," Ahiru said.

Fakir looked at the waitress, even more puzzled at her exclamation at Autor's name.

Lytha sighed. "If you want, Evanee, I can serve them for you."

"No, no no, that won't be necessary, Lytha." Evanee practically ran to the counter, and pretended to sweep the floor.

"...Well, that was weird," Lytha said.

"Uh yeah," Fakir said, looking back at Ahiru. "As much as I hate his face. He did help me finish the stories..."

Ahiru excused herself to go to the bathroom.

Fakir started to pull out a tiny notebook and pen from his back pocket. He looked deep in thought while writing now and then.

Lytha was watching everything. "Pfft...this is funny," she said. "I suddenly feel like eating something sweet." Lytha walked to the counter and ordered a chocolate cake. After buying the cake, she went back to her seat.

The door slammed open. "FAKIR!"

Lytha jumped from shock.

Fakir groaned and rolled his eyes."This is a public place; you of all people know not to behave like that."

Autor made his way briskly to the green-haired boy. "Ah! So you were here! Running away now, are we?"

Ahiru stepped out of the bathroom. "Autor?"

"Ah, Ahiru. Sorry for the intrusion, but I have some very pressing matters to discuss." Autor looked back and forth between Fakir and Ahiru. "I guess between the both of you."

"Well, it's very rude of you to just barge in here all of a sudden and interrupt our meal!" Ahiru said.

"Pfffttttt.... " Lytha giggled.

Fakir grumbled that it was probably some news article that Autor found in the library. "Autor, at least grab a seat. We all know how much you like to talk."

Ahiru gaped at him. "You're gonna let him sit down after busting in here?"

"I will ignore Fakir's last comment," Autor said as he waved his hand while grabbing a nearby chair to scoot between the two.

Ahiru folded her arms. _Why did he have to interrupt us like this? Big meanie._

Autor pushed up his glasses. "I will have you know that we might have another Story that's taking hold of the town."

"What?! How is that possible?" Ahiru asked.

Autor pushed up his glasses again with a smug grin. "With Spinner powers, anything is possible! Why, didn't you think it was weird that we only now heard recently of this Pizzeria?"

~~~~~~~~~

Lytha was casually reading her book while Evanee was in the back room, unaware of Autor's presence. She decided to go to the back room and find Evanee. "Evanee?"

"Oh! Hi Lytha, sorry..." Evanee said. "I needed to get away from Fakir to think a little, you know?"

"Ohh, just to let you know, Autor is here too," Lytha said.

"He's WHAT?!"

~~~~~~~~~

Autor's ears twitched as he heard a familiar voice coming from the kitchen.

Fakir was puzzled at Autor's reaction to the outburst, looking at his friend freeze.

"What's wrong, Autor?" Ahiru asked.

"Because it's not Drosselmeyer who's doing the spinning, BUT someone I do know is highly likely doing so!" Autor said.

"Wait... you don't mean..." Ahiru looked over at Fakir.

"Don't look at me," Fakir said. "You have been monitoring my writing since Ahiru turned back."

~~~~~~~~~

"Woah, calm down there, girl," Lytha said. "All I said was, Autor is here."

"Why? Why is he here? He's not looking for me, right?" Evanee grasped Lytha's shoulders, shaking her a bit.

"Why would he be looking for you?"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuh, no reason," Evanee said. "Oh, look at that! Time flies, I gotta go sweep behind the counter!"

"......." Lytha decided to push Evanee to the front.

Evanee said, "Wait--no, let me stay behind the counter, I'm fine there, it's safe!"

"What do you mean, 'safe'? This whole cafe is safe, girl," Lytha said.

Evanee went silent. "..."

"Evanee, what's wrong?" Lytha asked.

~~~~~~~~~

"So it's not Fakir?" Ahiru asked. "Or is he doing it on accident?"

Autor looked at the kitchen doors, responding to a person's voice. "Say, you didn't happen to see a girl work here, have you?"

"Yeah, there was a waitress who's taking forever on our orders," Fakir said.

"Now that I think about it, yeah Fakir, you're right, there was a girl..." Ahiru said.

"...Oh?" Autor's glasses shined ominously.

~~~~~~~~~

Lytha sighed. "I will only do this once."

She walked out with Fakir and Ahiru's orders. "I'm so sorry about the wait, here are your orders."

"Oh, Lytha, I didn't know you worked here," Ahiru said.

Fakir blinked slowly, because he had a feeling that something was off.

Lytha sidelooked at the door. "Yeah, just started today," she said as she set down the order.

"Oh, you got the House Special, Fakir? What is it today?" Autor asked.

Fakir looked at the innocent-looking coffee cup and sniffed at it carefully. "I actually didn't ask..."

"Sooo, Autor, what will your order be?"

"Ah, I will have the House Special too, and a croissant," Autor said.

"Lytha, what's the House Special?" Fakir asked.

"Ugh, fine." Evanee walked out of the door, hiding her face behind a menu. "It's a dark roasted mint bean with chocolate," Evanee called out promptly.

"It's a dark roasted mint bean with chocolate," Lytha said.

"Huh, sounds surprisingly pleasant," Fakir said.

"That sounds really good..." Ahiru said. "Could I, um..."

Autor glared at the girl standing at the counter, hiding her face with a menu.

"Can I have a sip, Fakir?" Ahiru asked.

"Just wait, let me taste it before I let you," Fakir said.

Fakir took a sip. Gentle surprise appeared on his face. "Here, it's a bit bitter, but it's pretty good," he said, handing Ahiru the cup.

Ahiru smiled brightly, taking the cup in her hands and sipping it.

Lytha giggled. "I will be right back with your order, Autor." Lytha walked to the counter.

Evanee lowered her menu ever so slowly to meet Autor's eyes, then shot it back up. "Crap."

"Pretty sure you guys made eye contact, sweetheart," Lytha said.

Fakir made a weird face at Lytha. "What?"

Lytha shouted back at him from the counter, "I was talking to someone else, not you, Senior Fakir."

"Hey, that's not so bad! Maybe we should let the Story Spinner continue to write this stuff up," Ahiru said. "Thanks, Fakir!" Ahiru held the cup back out to him, blushing a little at its warmth. (100% at the coffee's warmth, not anything else)

Suddenly, Autor jumped towards the counter in a mad dash. "AHA, I FOUND YOU, EVANEE!"

"Busted," Lytha said.

"Ahaaaah..." Evanee said. "Hi..."

"Huh?" Ahiru looked over, paying no attention to the coffee cup that was about to drop from her fingers.

Evanee hid behind Lytha.

"AHEM." Autor dragged Evanee out from behind Lytha.

"Hey, you don't have to drag her!" Lytha said.

"Thank you, Lytha. Really, Autor, stop squeezing my arm so hard," Evanee said.

"This is our Spinner," Autor said.

"The waitress girl??" Ahiru asked, gaping at him.

"And why would you say that?" Fakir asked.

"Because..." Autor paused dramatically. " **She is our cousin, and is the ONLY ONE who would think up a cafe-pizzeria with talking animals as staff, AND a cute bookstore right next to it!** "

Lytha sighed.

"So you do think it's cute--!" Evanee instantly covered her own mouth.

"Cousin?" Ahiru asked.

"Aha! And I was just quoting verbatim," Autor said.

Lytha set down Autor's order and another House Special. "Autor, give her a chance to explain before rambling," she said. "Also, Ahiru, you are going to drop the cup."

"Oh!" Ahiru looked down at the liquid, which was tipping out of control. "That was close, thanks!"

The polar bear staff member came out from the manager's office. "Evanee, your shift is over. Remember to punch out so you don't get accidental over-time."

"Thanks, sir!" Evanee watched him go, then turned back to the crew. "Well... you see... I didn't mean to."

Fakir sighed. "Pull up another chair."

"Evanee, go punch out first," Lytha said.

Evanee nodded and ran off to the back.

"Wow, another story spinner?" Ahiru asked.

Lytha pulled up another chair and sat with them. "Her name's Evanee, Ahiru."

"Oh, sorry... heh. Thanks, Lytha," Ahiru said.

"No probs," Lytha said.

Fakir frowned. "You would think Autor would tell me, at least."

"Yeah... Hey! Wait a minute, if what's-her-name could write stories, then why'd you make Fakir do it!?" Ahiru said.

"I _did_ tell you, don't you remember?" Autor said to Fakir. "It was exactly 2 weeks, 5 days after the story ended when I told you!"

Fakir frowned again. He couldn't care less.

"And Senior Fakir, you have to stop frowning; you will get wrinkles," Lytha said.

"Tell me about it," Ahiru said, making a Fakir frowny-face.

After a few moments to calm her hyperventilation, Evanee calmly stepped back out into the dining room and sat next to them all.

"First, don't call me Senior Fakir. We are not in Spain. Second, I'm not frowning, this is my normal face."

"I called you Senior because you are older than me," Lytha said. "Would you rather I call you Fakir-senpai?"

"Pfft," Autor said. "Resting ****-face it is."

"It's a scary face, I gotta admit," Evanee said.

"I think his resting face is completely beaut--er, normal," Ahiru said.

"PPPfffft--" Evanee and Lytha cracked up.

Fakir started to get even redder. "Evanee, explain yourself or we will have Autor do it for you."

"Oh, you know I will, Evanee." Autor smirked.

Lytha sipped on her coffee. "Oh, shut up, Autor."

"Oh! Right," Evanee said. "Well, you see. At first, it was little things. I'd write a romance story, and the next day I'd see two people practically in love, but in a similar setting to what I wrote."

"That's actually... really sweet," Ahiru said.

"And I kept writing my usual things; I didn't think much of it, but some of them started to come true," Evanee said. "Then I wrote that I was a student at the academy... but it didn't come true, so I thought maybe it was fake, and I was seeing things."

Fakir grumbled about how there better not be some haunted gloves involved or we are in a terrible AU.

"A few days ago I wrote about this place, just to see if it maybe possibly could come true. You know, my favorite things in one place!" Evanee said. "And the next morning, it did, and Mr. Apollo Bare hired me."

"I mean, it is really cute," Ahiru said.

"Thank you!" Evanee said.

"You have always liked cute things," Lytha said.

"See! That's proof right there!" Autor said.

"All she did was open a cafe-book store, Autor," Lytha said. 

"Oh whatever Autor, you're just jealous," Evanee said.

"...You do know Drosselmeyer hasn't been seen lately, right?" Fakir asked.

"Hmm?" Evanee asked.

"....who?" Lytha asked.

"I AM NOT JEALOUS!" Autor yelled. He was definitely jealous.

"Yeah, Fakir has a point -- it might be dangerous to mess with stories, cause he can mess with them," Ahiru said.

"Who is Drosselmeyer?" Lytha asked.

"The creepy Spinner who died eons ago, but wrote that he would continue the story of the Prince and the Raven," Fakir said.

"Ohhhh, you mean that old man," Lytha said.

"I think he's the guy who made everyone animals, idk, Autor w o u l d n ' t t e l l m e," Evanee said.

"Well, that's not nearly important, because YOU," he points at Evanee, "don't know what you are messing with!"

"Now now, calm down, Evanee," Lytha said. "You too, Autor."

"He said..." Evanee mimicked Autor's glasses shine. "'It doesn't matter; you don't have the power'."

"No, that is definitely important, because she doesn't know what she is messing with," Fakir said.

"Well, how bad is this power?" Lytha asked.

"It can't be all that bad. All I have to do is avoid killing anyone through writing," Evanee said.

"Or manipulating people," Ahiru added.

"But how do you just suddenly create the Cafe-Pizzeria when you could barely write a romance story a few months ago?" Autor asked.

"Uh--excuse me," Evanee said, "I _wrote_ ~~excellent~~ romance stories; they just didn't come true."

"Fakir could barely change the story, and the only thing he could do was use Ahiru to heal everyone's hearts!" Autor said. 

Fakir's eye twitched.

"So you are saying she used someone as leverage?" Lytha asked.

"Sorry, no offense," Autor said.

"It was an intense time, Autor," Fakir said.

"That's probably because you were there to annoy him the whole time -- 'swan feather this', 'three days no food that'," Evanee said.

Fakir rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and a half cup of darjeeling that."

"And don't forget the water splashing and the Oak Tree," Lytha added.

"Oh yeah, I forgot I told you about that, Lytha, " Evanee said.

Ahiru, who had just been silently watching them, gave out a small giggle.

"And I still can't believe Ahiru here is Princess Tutu," Lytha said.

"Wha--Qua--!" Ahiru nearly quacked. "Lytha! How did you...?" She paused. "...Evanee?"

"Heh... oops," Evanee said.

"I have my ways to get it out of Evanee," Lytha giggled.

"I meaaan, I didn't think it was real until, well..." Evanee motioned at the cafe.

Fakir looked at Autor. "And you were the one who told her, weren't you?"

Autor groaned. "Don't pass it on to me."

"Autor, that was none of your business to tell others!" Ahiru exclaimed.

"By the way, no offense, Ahiru," Lytha said.

"Oh, it's alright, Lytha, as long as you kept it a secret," Ahiru said.

"Sure," Lytha said.

"Why did it need to be kept a secret, anyway?" Evanee asked.

"Because we would like to not twist it into gossip, thank you very much," Fakir replied.

"I'm sorry, everyone..." Evanee said.

"Come on, guys, give her a break," Lytha said. "She feels bad about it enough as it is."

Evanee shot a small smile at Lytha.

"And you, Fakir, have to stop saying it in an angry tone," Lytha added.

"I am not," Fakir said. "I am being perfectly calm."

"Well... maybe the cafe doesn't have to go, we just have to keep her in check," Ahiru said. "Right, Fakir?"

"Honestly, how does Ahiru put up with you?" Lytha asked, turning from Fakir to Ahiru. "How do you put up with him, Ahiru?"

"You say that like we're a--a--c-couple!" Ahiru stammered.

Fakir started to get up from his seat. "Autor, this is your mess."

"Hmph, as always, pushing the blame on others," Lytha said.

"W-wait, hold it!" Autor said.

"Hmmm?" Ahiru asked.

"Why do I have to clean up after Evanee?" Autor asked.

"Yeah, I don't want to deal with him -- you two are much nicer!" Evanee said.

"Although she's our cousin, you had the gall to not train her sooner," Fakir said. "Also, I'm not nicer."

"Tch," Lytha said.

"That's not true, Fakir," Ahiru said.

"Please don't make me spend time with him," Evanee said.

Autor scoffed. "I don't have to deal with it, since I can't train her."

"Come on, Evanee, let's go," Lytha said, standing up.

Evanee nodded and followed Lytha, looking back at Fakir with disappointment that he wasn't the cousin to help her.

"Forget about Autor; he never was the caring type or helpful type," Lytha said.

The two of them walked out of the shop. While they were walking, Lytha mumbled, "Honestly, will it kill Autor or Fakir to help..."

"No kidding," Evanee replied.

Back in the cafe, Autor suddenly said, "Oh man, I need to grab this on the go!" Autor grabbed a paper bag and stuffed in the croissant for home.

Fakir started heading towards the door. "Ahiru, you coming?"

"Yep," Ahiru rushed towards him. She looked at Fakir and smiled. Even if he never accepted his two cousins as family, at least he'd always have her.

As the door closed, the polar bear waiter came out with the broom to sweep the floor, tidying things up for new guests.


	2. In Which Sagi Finds the Cafe and Meets Lytha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Sagi (created by Tomoyo Ichijouji, from the fanfic "Chapter of the Bird")

Sometime later, the front door of the cafe cracked open, and a tall blue-haired girl poked her head in curiously. "Oh, I didn't know there was a cafe over here..." Sagi said, tilting her head.

Lytha was standing behind the blue-haired girl, looking at her. "Ummm, excuse me?"

Sagi turned to look at the ginger-haired girl, blinking. "Oh, pardon me -- were you in line?"

"Sorta... I came back because I forgot to do something, and uhh... you are sort of blocking the door," Lytha replied.

Sagi nodded and quickly stepped aside. "My apologies. I was just surprised, since I never saw this cafe here before."

"Well, then, want to join me?"

Sagi's eyes widened a little. "Is that all right? I'm only a stranger to you, after all..."

"It will be fine! Come on," Lytha dragged the blue haired girl to a window seat.

Sagi allowed herself to be pulled to a chair, though looked very confused at the enthusiasm. "A-all right... I take it you've been here before, then?"

"That's right. Oh, and the name's Lytha," Lytha said, smiling.

Sagi nodded with a gentle smile. "Then, I'm Sagi. Pleased to meet you, Miss Lytha."

"Drop the 'Miss'; besides I'm only 17," Lytha said.

Sagi was quite caught off guard, as while she was used to others being more enthusiastic than her, she wasn't used to someone getting so familiar so quickly. That was, except for Ahiru, who had told her something similar when they had first met. "Ah... alright, then... Mi--um, Lytha."

Lytha just smiled. "Anyways, what would you like?"

"Is there a menu to look at?" Sagi asked.

Lytha gave Sagi a menu, and she read it over. Her eyes widened upon reading the last line. "They take items by request? This must be a well-stocked cafe...." She looked thoughtful. "I wonder what kind of fish they have..."

Lytha giggled. "You remind me of a cat."

Sagi's head tilted a little. "A cat? Because of the fish?"

Of course, that had more to do with her being a heron than any feline similarities, but she didn't think it the time to bring that up. She shrugged gently. "Fish is my favorite food. Back when I lived at the lake, I caught my own all the time."

"You lived at a lake? I didn't know that there were houses near the lake," Lytha said.

"There aren't any houses right by the lake, that's true. I didn't live in a house. I just--" She realized a little too late how odd that sounded.

Lytha looked very confused. "Wait... you... are you like Ahiru?"

Sagi's eyes widened. "Wait, you know Ahiru? And about... us having lived at the lake?"

"Well, let's just say I know most things," Lytha replied.

Sagi furrowed a brow. "Most things...?"

"About Drosselmeyer, Ahiru being a duck, and well... most things," Lytha said. "I happen to be friends with Ahiru and Fakir....well, mostly Ahiru."

Sagi started at hearing the name Drosselmeyer. "You know about all that? Did they tell you about it? Or were you with them when all that happened?"

"I was told what happened," Lytha replied.

Sagi nodded. "Like me, then... Ahiru told me about it as well, though she didn't tell me right away. Only after we got the magic pendants."

"I see... anyways, looks like our orders are here," Lytha said as a waiter placed down their orders.

Sagi turned her attention to the dish placed in front of her. "They already knew I wanted fish... and freshwater fish, besides."

"And don't worry, it's on the house," Lytha said as she paid the waiter. She sipped her cinnamon coffee. "Phew... cinnamon coffee is the best."

Sagi thought for a moment. "Maybe some tea would be a good idea." And no sooner had she said this, a waiter placed a cup of steaming tea in front of her.

Lytha paid the waiter at the same time. "Thanks."

Sagi held up a hand hesitantly. "You don't have to pay for me; I can cover my part..."

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Lytha said as she smiled. "So I'm sure you have some questions about the old man and Ahiru, am I right?"

"Well... I'm sure I don't understand everything, but I never intended to pry into her matters, so I just let her tell me what she wants to at the time," Sagi said. "But I have wondered how Fakir is doing with his writing, considering everything he's had to handle. Ahiru worries about him so."

"Oh, both of them are fine; I saw them just this morning at this cafe," Lytha said. "Fakir is still the same, and Ahiru...is also the same."

Sagi smiled slightly. "I'm glad to hear that. Sometimes I feel Fakir lets his sense of duty get the better of him, though if he listens to Ahiru, it seems to loosen him up."

"Honestly, I can't tell if they are married, or just a couple," Lytha remarked.

Sagi blinked. "I'm sure they're not married yet, as Ahiru insistently tells me when I ask about her and Fakir. Insisting a lot, I would say."

"They act like a married couple."

Sagi closed her eyes with a fond smile. "Yes, they do bicker with one another so warmly."

Lytha thought for a moment. _But judging by this morning's reaction, it means that Ahiru has not confessed to Fakir yet_...

Sagi looked thoughtful. "I do wish them well; though, I would hate to get in their way..."

"I won't be surprised if all of a sudden Ahiru, Fakir, or even Autor bust in here just to say they are not together," Lytha said, sighing. "I'm just glad I'm not in love yet."

"I understand the sentiment," Sagi said with an understanding nod. "Sometimes it brings more pain than happiness."

Lytha looked out the window to see the sun setting. "Oh my, would you look at that, the sun is setting. We've been here for a while."

Sagi blinked. "Time certainly has gotten away from us. I take it the cafe might close soon?"

"Nope, from what I heard the cafe is open 24/7, which is great for someone like me."

"Oh, I see..." Sagi said, "perhaps I shall come here in the early morning sometimes then, after I wake up."

"I rarely get the chance to sleep sometimes," Lytha said.

Sagi glanced at Lytha with concern. "Are you having difficulties sleeping?"

"No, not exactly, my family is the only shoe store in this town so we get a lot of customers."

"I suppose that means sometimes you're up all hours of the night preparing the store wares, then?"

"Yep, I have a younger sister and brother, and my father is not in good health so I'm the one who does the orders. It's very tiring," Lytha said. "By the way, the music division will perform at the town center two days from now, do come and see me."

"Ooh, that sounds fun," Evanee said as she came by their table.

"Evanee, can you drag Autor and Fakir and Ahiru to the town center for the performance?"

"I can try, but I'm not sure they'll listen," Evanee said.

Lytha turned to Sagi. "How about you, Sagi?"

"Me?" Sagi asked, tilting her head. "Do you mean to ask for me to attend?"

"If you are free? I mean, this will be the first time I will be performing for the main lead, and I want my friends to be there," Lytha said with a smile.

"I'll see if I can make it," Sagi replied with a small smile.

"YAY!" Lytha said as she hugged Sagi.

Evanee smiled. "Do you all want anything else?"

"Give me two more cups of cinnamon coffee -- oh, and 20 cups to go," Lytha said, mumbling about orders and staying up late again.

Sagi blinked at Lytha. "How will you carry all of those?"

"I have my ways," Lytha said as she grinned.

Sagi didn't look entirely convinced, but it wasn't in her nature to argue over such things, so she naturally let it go. "Oh, as for my order, some tea would be good... and maybe some tea biscuits, if you have any recommendations."

"OOH! We have some reaaally good apricot tumeric ones," Evanee said.

"Get me some, too," Lytha said. "Put it on my tab, Evanee."

"On it~" Evanee said in a sing-songy voice, going behind the counter.

Lytha sipped on her coffee while waiting for the order. "Oh, that's right, Sagi -- here," Lytha pulled out a shoebox from a bag and placed it in front of Sagi.

Sagi was quite confused, staring at the box as if it had magically appeared there. "Huh? What is this?"

"Take a look and see," Lytha said as she smiled.

After placing a brief puzzled finger on her chin, Sagi wordlessly and carefully grasped the box lid, lifting it open.

As Sagi was opening the box, Evanee walked up to them, with Darjeeling tea, to-go cups, a large thermos of cinnamon coffee, and biscuits balanced across her hands.

"Wow, Evanee, you sure can carry a lot," Lytha said.

"I work out. Plus, I'm always carrying props for the lil plays I'm in," Evanee said.

"That's cool!" Lytha said. She turned back to Sagi to see her reaction. "So, you like it?"

Inside the shoe box was a cute pair of sandals.

"These are for me...?" Sagi said, amazed. "They're even my exact shoe size. How did you...?"

"Hmmmm...wellll, while walking through town, I saw you stare at these shoes outside the shop window, and I wasn't sure if you had the money to buy them, so I decided to make them for you. As for the shoe size, I asked our teachers for it." Lytha smiled. "Anyways, think of it as my gift to you for becoming my friend."

"That's so cute!" Evanee said.

"You even made these yourself..." Sagi said, clearly taken by surprise. "I... thank you. It's very generous of you."

"Don't mention it," Lytha said. "Go ahead, you can try them on. I want to see you in them."

"If it's alright..." Sagi says, carefully angling her chair away from the table and taking out the sandals, looking over them for a moment. "They're very well made. You're really talented at this."

"Thanks, but really I learned from the best."

"They must be proud to have you as a student," Sagi said with a small smile, delicately removing her black school uniform pumps and socks, then strapping one of the sandals on. "It feels really comfortable," she says, moving her foot around for a moment.

"They really suit you, Sagi," Lytha said.

"Thank you, Lytha," Sagi said with a warm smile. "I'll treasure them."

"You are welcome," Lytha said with a grin. "Oh, would you look at the time, I need to go. I still have orders to complete, and judging by the orders, I'm pretty sure I'm not sleeping tonight either. Joy." Lytha stood up. "Oh, and please don't tell Evanee I haven't slept for two days; she will be so mad at me."

"I won't, but... please do take care of yourself," Sagi said with concern. "It wouldn't do if you collapsed from exhaustion and hurt yourself..."

"I wish... everyone in town has been asking me to repair their shoes and make custom ones, so it's hard to get any sleep."

"But doing things without having slept becomes more and more difficult the longer it goes on," Sagi replied with a worried frown. "I know I have difficulty focusing when I haven't had enough sleep, so..."

"I will try... but no promises. If Evanee hears this, I'm so dead."

Sagi sighed sadly, but didn't press the issue. "Don't worry, I won't."

"Thanks~!" Lytha said. "Welp, I better get going, see you tomorrow, Sagi! Byeeee!" Lytha waved goodbye to Sagi and carried off the large thermos with her.


	3. In Which Lytha Takes Marilee and Odin Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a brief mention near the beginning of two OCs having met each other previously, and it is a reference to a prior iteration of the RP where some of the OCs were briefly spirited away to another world similar to Kinkan Town itself, and first met there. They were implied to have returned to their home worlds soon afterward without further incident.
> 
> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Marilee (created by SecretSinner91)  
> \- Odin (created by Tomoyo Ichijouji, from the fanfic "Chapter of the Bird")  
> \- Lisa & Liam (created by Seraphina)

_A day later..._

Marilee was humming to herself as she walked about. She decided to not have her mask on today. She had enough money to explore around. The blue-eyed girl couldn't help but admire the small and sleepy town. She couldn't help but remember being utterly terrified when she was abandoned. Now, this was her home! Nothing could go wrong here!

Odin the fledgling raven flew into the square before alighting onto the wishing fountain with an air of confusion. "Huh? Okay, now I think I'm lost," he said aloud after clicking his beak in irritation. "Where in the seven hells is the roost?"

Marilee got to the fountain and stared at it. Just as she was about to touch the water, a pair of twin children had rushed by, causing the girl to spin and let out a caw-like noise, mimicking a bird as she nearly fell into the water.

The cawing caught Odin's attention, as he knew right away it wasn't a raven calling out. The young bird hopped down the fountain and landed on the rim nearby, studying the source of the caw. "Huh? You're not a raven..."

"Eh, no. I'm not. I tend to mimic them though. It's all good.... eh?" Marilee noticed that there wasn't a person. However, she did notice the small raven and blinked twice. "Wait... did... you just... talk?"

" _Yes_ , I was the one who talked," the raven said with a sigh. "But just a moment, I'll be polite." With that, a flurry of black feathers fell away to reveal a young boy dressed in feathery black clothing. "So anyway, why are you cawing?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Marilee stared at the raven for a moment quite owlishly. It took for a moment before she let out a caw in surprise before covering her mouth. However, she realized she was being so rude too! "Sorry, not used to seeing birds turn into humans," she apologized quickly. Then she sighed. "As for the cawing, I think someone ran past, and I nearly fell, and cawing is a vocal tic I developed," the fourteen-year-old answered, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

Odin tilted his head at the bird-like girl. "A verbal tic? I believe it, but that's not a common human thing to say. Unless you were raised by ravens or something?"

The girl fidgeted a little. “I guess it’s odd... but that’s fine,” she said, though she mentally commented to herself: _I might as well have been..._

"Oh, I'm not _objecting_ ," Odin said a bit snobbily. "It's clearly a better sound to make. But _how_ you got that habit, is the question."

Lytha walked up to the girl and bowed her head. "I'm so sorry about that! My siblings were running around and they didn't notice you; are you okay?"

Marilee looked at the girl and shook her head, giving a smile. “Neh, it’s fine. Really!” she reassured.

Lytha looked up to see a boy, mumbling something about him looking familiar.

Odin turned to the girl he recalled as Lytha. "Say, you know this girl, don't you? Why does she caw all the time?"

He had known Lytha from that moment of time recently where he and a few other girls had been spirited away to another world. He had found himself back home without much fanfare afterward -- that is, until this current moment, where he found himself in what seemed to be another world again.

"Wait... is that you, Odin? Also, I never met this girl until today," Lytha said, pointing to the girl. Suddenly she was tackled from behind by two kids. "Oof! Liam, Lisanna...what did I say about tackling me from behind?"

Marilee was mentally panicking, as she was gripping the hem of her dress that has seen better days. The girl just shrugged. “Just thought it sounded like a good vocal tic, is all... hehe?” Marilee was blessed with the distraction of the kids.

Odin squinted at her, pursing his lips dubiously. This girl was acting _very_ suspect -- and she was totally avoiding his question. First things first, though... "What's your name, anyway? You may call me Odin, like this girl Lytha called me."

"Come now, Odin, don't scare the poor girl," Lytha said as both her siblings hugged her.

"I'm just asking her a simple question!" Odin protested. "If someone's cawing out of habit, I wanna know why! Because chances are, it'll be pretty relevant to me, being a creature who naturally caws. And if it isn't... then I gotta know how it can't be!"

Lytha sighed. "True, I'm also curious, but first..."

Lytha pushed both her siblings toward Marilee. "Both of you apologize for bumping into her."

"Sorry," the boy Liam said.

"Sowwiee," the girl Lisanna said.

"Neh... it’s okay, really," Marilee said, smiling at the kids. The girl looked at the three of them. "I'm Marilee. Nice to meet you all."

"Hi, Marilee, I'm Lytha," Lytha said, smiling. She turned to her siblings. "Okay, you two go home and study."

"Okie," Liam and Lisanna said, and then both were gone.

"Marilee, then...?" Odin said, noting it mentally. "Well, in that case -- Marilee, if you're not gonna give me a straight answer, I'll just have to interrogate it out of you. First, yes or no -- were you raised by ravens or humans? ...Or something else?"

Lytha facepalmed. "Odin, before 'interrogating' her, let me take her shopping first," Lytha said, turning toward Marilee and seeing her dress and shoes.

Odin looked at Marilee. "What's wrong with what she's wearing? I'm wearing something kinda like that."

"That's it -- we are going shopping, you two," Lytha said as she dragged both of them away.

"Wha--?" Odin exclaimed, taken by surprise as he was dragged along. "Stop that! Unhand me, human! What in the seven hells do you think you're doing?!"

"What I'm doing is giving you guys fresh clothes and shoes; now stop complaining."

 _This is fine,_ Marilee thought as she was being dragged.

Lytha dragged both of them to a clothing shop. "Hey old man, I need clothes for these two!" Lytha shouted.

Odin crossed his arms, pouting. "I don't need new clothes; I'm a raven. Ravens don't wear human clothes."

Marilee was confused. When had there been such a wide selection of clothing?!

"Stop pouting and go try on the clothes -- you too, Marilee," Lytha said, pushing Odin into the changing room.

Five minutes later, Lytha said, "Come out, Odin!"

With a grumble, Odin unceremoniously shoved the curtain open. He was wearing a surprisingly smart schoolboy uniform, complete with a cardigan and slacks. He looked thoroughly disgruntled. "...I feel stupid."

"You look dashing, Odin!" Lytha said.

" _D-dashing?!_ " Odin exclaimed loudly, hoping that the burning in his cheeks wasn't very visible. "I'm not _dashing_... Stop saying stupid things..."

"Awww, is Odin blushing?" Lytha teased. She turned to the other changing room. "You too, Marilee, come on out!"

Marilee opened the curtain and fidgeted as she was wearing a black dress with shoes. “Do I look decent?”

"Cute... but, why the color black?" Lytha asked. "You should have gone for a more lighter color."

“O-oh! I didn’t think about that...” she answered. She was used to wearing black... _he_ always said she looked better in black.

"Hmm, but if you like it, that's fine," Lytha said. "Now that you both have **proper** outfits, let's go."

"What? No, I can't go out in this!" Odin exclaimed, taking an unconscious step back. "What will the roost say if they saw me like this? I'd never live it down..."

"You'll be fine, Odin," Lytha replied. "Just be glad I didn't ask you to wear a pair of bright green pants, hehe..."

Odin crossed his arms, scowling petulantly. "You just don't understand, human -- I have a reputation to protect. If I make a fool of myself out there dressed like a human, they'd laugh so hard, I'd be last in line for food findings for several moons!"

"Well, too bad, I've already paid for the outfit, so there is nothing you can do," Lytha said as she smirked. "Look, you won't know if they will mock you."

Odin's eyes looked off the side, and just the slightest hint of a blush appeared on his face. "If Frigg laughed at me, I'd just throw myself in the river."

"Then he has to go through me first, if he ever wants to mock you," Lytha said, smiling.

"Frigg's a she, and you'd better not touch her!" Odin yelled, suddenly belligerent.

"Oho, I see how it is," Lytha said, smirking. "Hmmm, I found a new teasing method~"

Marilee continued to walk ahead.

"Now, come on you two, I'm sure you both are hungry," Lytha said, dragging them both along again. "Let's go eat."

Odin was absolutely beside himself. "You're not going to tease _me_ , human! You wait and see -- I'll get you back for this!" he yelled as he was dragged along.

"Whatever you say~!" Lytha said in a sing-song voice, grinning.

Odin scowled. This. meant. war.


	4. In Which There is Tension in the Cafe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Lucy, Selene (both created by Burst, from the fanfic "Blackout")

"Here we are," Lytha said as they arrived at a familiar cafe.

Lytha burst open through the front door, wherein Sagi sat at one of the tables like the previous day. "Hi Evanee, I'm hereeee, and I brought two more friends!"

“Come on in, lovely!” Evanee said.

Lytha pushed the two to the front. "This is Odin and Marilee."

“Oh, we have yet to have a non-human visit! Hello, you two -- please, come on in,” Evanee motioned at a table for six near the front.

"Thanks, Evanee," Lytha brought them both to the table. "I will leave you two to talk alone first, I'm sure Odin has a ton of questions for you, Marilee." Lytha walked over to the counter to talk to Evanee.

Upon seeing Odin from across the room, Sagi's eyes widened. "Caras...?"

Odin glanced over at her in response to her intent gaze. "Huh? Who are you?"

~~~~~~~~~

As a dark-blonde girl walked on, she suddenly came across the café. "I cannot remember there being a café here...well, maybe it is fairly new?" And so, she entered the café...

A polar bear waiter stopped dusting some shelves and attended the new customer. "Please feel free to sit wherever you like. We will take your order momentarily."

"Alright, thank you!" the blonde girl said, and then looked for a place to sit. After sitting down somewhere, the dark-blonde haired girl listened to the conversations around.

~~~~~~~~~

Lytha returned with two trays of food and drinks. "I'm back, what'd I miss?"

Odin looked at Lytha and pointed over at Sagi. "This girl thinks she knows me, but she must be mistaken, because I've never seen her before."

Lytha turned to Sagi. "Oh, that's Sagi, one of my friends. Hey, Sagi, come join us!" Lytha shouted over to her.

While moving at a leisurely pace, Sagi was unusually intent on approaching the group. "Lytha, do you know this... boy?"

"Yep, I met him a while back; this is Odin -- Odin, this is Sagi."

"Odin, you say...?" Sagi said, gazing at the boy more.

Growing uneasy at Sagi's intent gaze, Odin looked over at Marilee. "Have you been to a human coffee house before?"

"Odin, you make it sound like she's not human," Lytha remarked.

"She hasn't told us how she was raised, remember?" Odin replied. "Where I come from, there are humans who can't even enter places like this; they're too destitute."

"Well, you might have to wait for while before she can speak, as you can see... she's sort of stuffing her face with food," Lytha said, looking at Marilee.

Odin crossed his arms, furrowing a brow at her food gobbling. "Actually, that says a lot already."

Lytha turned to see Sagi still staring at Odin. "Uhhh, Sagi, is there something wrong with Odin here? You've been staring at him for quite a while." She whispered to Odin, "Did you do something to make her mad?"

"I barely even looked at her!" Odin said, not bothering to lower his voice. "If anything, she looks more like she's seen a ghost or something."

Sagi blinked. "Oh! No, nothing's wrong with him, it's just... you look very much like someone I know," Sagi said. "And have his same name..." She paused. "Could you be... him from the past?"

Evanee pulled up a chair. "Well, this sounds interesting."

Lytha wanted to say something to Evanee, but realized that if Evanee looked at her, she would notice the dark circles under her eyes = not sleeping = Evanee scolding. "Ahahah... yeah, it does," Lytha said, not looking at her. "But I'm confused..."

"So am I, but I love a good story," Evanee said, before banging her head on the table. "Ugh, I sound like Drossemeyer -- or at least, what I know of him."

Lytha patted Evanee on the back. "There, there, everyone loves a good story."

"Speaking of, Lytha, I forgot to tell you -- I had a dream the other night... kinda a lucid dream, where I was in a world with a bunch of clock gears and stuff, and this man kept... appearing? I dunno, he was weird.”

Sagi heard the part about the gears and realized something. "The Loophole in Time..." she murmured to herself with concern.

"...I'm calling Autor and Fakir," Lytha said. "Or one of them, at least." But by now, Lytha had totally forgotten to make sure Evanee didn't know she hadn't been sleeping, and she made eye contact with Evanee.

"Are you okay?" Evanee asked. "You seem to have some dirt on your face."

"I'm fine," Lytha said, looking away and panicking.

“Lytha... look at me.”

"......Noooooo," Lytha moaned.

“You haven’t been sleeping, have you?”

"....maybe..."

"How many hours in the past week?"

"...72 hours."

"72 hours of not sleeping, I assume, then."

Lytha just looked away.

"Silence means I'm right." Evanee sighed. “Look, I'm not going to yell at you, cause you seem too tired to understand, but you need to stop it with those orders."

"But... I can't let my dad do it. He is getting old, and my siblings are too young to take orders."

"Then ask _me_ , you idiot!"

"It's fine; tonight, I'll get sleep, I promise. Besides, I finished all the orders for this week already."

"Your promises of self-care are weak; I'm coming home with you tonight," Evanee said.

"Boooo..."

Evanee shrugged. "You brought this upon yourself."

"But... but..." Lytha stammered. "I'm fine, aren't I?"

"No," Evanee said. "The more you try to convince me that you're fine, the more I think you aren't."

Lytha sighed. "Fine..."

Evanee smiled with satisfaction, and looked over to the blonde across the room. "Can I get anything for you?"

"Oh... uh, I'd like to have a fruit-infused water, please. Peach, if that is possible," the blonde girl said.

"On it~!" Evanee said, walking back to the counter, before hearing the phone ring and going to answer it.

Lytha sipped on her coffee. "Let me ask you, Odin -- do you know Sagi?"

Odin shook his head. "No, not at all. But..." He looked up at her. "She _is_ the only nonhuman here. I can tell that much."

"I see... by the way I think you might want to wait until tomorrow for the 'interrogation'; it seems Marilee fell asleep," Lytha said as she saw Marilee sleeping.

Odin glanced at Marilee and sighed. "I suppose so. No getting anything out of her right now."

Suddenly Lytha stood up and walked to the dark-blonde girl sitting quietly in the corner. "Come join us," Lytha said, smiling.

Despite her shyness, she nodded and took Lytha's hand.

Lytha took the shy girl to the table. "Nice to meet you, I'm Lytha," she said, standing by the side of the table. "And these are my friends," Lytha added, turning to the group indicating them to introduce themselves.

"Uh... hi! My name is Selene," the shy girl said. "Nice to meet you, too." Her voice was also a bit shy.

Sagi, noticing the reticence, responded similarly. "I'm Sagi," she said gently with a slight nod.

Not used to being surrounded by humans while being engaged in conversation with them, Odin glanced sidelong and responds with somewhat unusual hesitance. "...You may call me Odin," he said briefly.

Marilee was enjoying her nap. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep. That was how comfortable the cafe was.

"The one sleeping is called Marilee, and the waitress over there is my best friend Evanee," Lytha said. "Come sit."

Selene nodded and sat down.

"So tell us about yourself," Lytha said.

"There is not really much to tell about me, really. Judging by how you are dressed, Lytha... you seem to go to the Gold Crown Academy, right?"

"That's right."

"I heard a lot about this academy..."

"....Let me guess, you are not enrolled," Lytha remarked.

"No, I am not..."

"Can... I ask why?"

"You see... I don't have an interest in any of the classes in the academy. Sure, I'd love to try something new, but... I don't know."

"Hmmm, I see."

"Say, which classes do you go to, Lytha?" Selene asked.

"I'm in the music and ballet divisions."

"Ballet, huh? I heard a lot about that type of dance..."

"I'm better at music, to be honest; my ballet is not the best," Lytha said, hoping Evanee wouldn't say anything or ask her to dance.

"I suppose everybody has their own thing to be good at. I have a friend who is in the academy and actually dances ballet, too. However, she is still more of a beginner."

"Oh, I see."

Marilee started to stir before she sat up, still in a sleepy state as she rubbed one of her eyes.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Lytha said. "Well, more like it's evening now."

"Morning," Marilee said tiredly, as she was more alert. She had heard the conversation about the academy and hobbies. It made Marilee sip her drink as she tried to not think about it. She wasn’t talented -- just plain. Like her stepmother said.

"Maybe you have seen her before: gray-blue eyes...short red hair?" Selene asked.

"Hmm, I'm in the beginner's division. If she's in the same beginner's class, I might have seen her before," Sagi said. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Lucy."

"I'm sorry, I'm in the advanced class so I don't know much about the beginner class," Lytha said.

"Doesn't seem like you heard the name 'Lucy' before, right?" Selene asked Sagi.

Sagi shook her head. "Well, I may have someone in my class who matches that description, but it may or may not be the same person, as I don't know her name."

"I see... well, maybe she will eventually find this café, too!" Selene said.

Lytha looked back at the blonde. "So Selene, have you not seen a ballet dance before?"

"I have seen one before, indeed," Selene replied. "That was a long time ago, though. And it wasn't a normal dance..."

Lytha looked at her with confusion.

Odin suddenly noticed that, with Lytha still standing next to the table, Lytha's chair was conspicuously vacant. Remembering the humiliation he was subjected to earlier, he inwardly smirked devilishly and slunk over to the chair, surreptitiously grabbed a squishy tomato from the table, and dropped it onto her seat. Then he casually receded back into his previous spot.

"I don't how to explain it... the thought of it is very blurry. All I can remember are... ravens." Selene shrugged. "But how do I know that kind of bird is related to it?"

"......." Unable to come up with a response, Lytha took a seat, only to feel something in it. She stood up to see the tomato she had sat on.

"Gah... why is there a tomato on my seat!" Lytha said with an angry face. "Wait... Odin!! You are so dead!"

Odin sniggered gleefully, making his escape by dashing away from the table.

"COME BACK HERE!" Lytha shouted, chasing after Odin.

"The thought of it is a bit funny, I'll not lie, but...why did he place a tomato on Lytha's seat?" Selene asked.

Sagi covered her mouth, hiding a knowing grin. "I suppose I can see where that mischievousness came from..."

"Well, some friends are just like that," Selene said.

Marilee blinked owlishly, seeing Odin running away from Lytha. She made a quiet 'caw' noise as she continued sipping her drink.

"Uh--did anyone else just hear a very quiet caw?" Selene asked.

"Aha, got you!" Lytha said as she grabbed Odin from behind.

Just as Lytha grabbed Odin, he changed back into a little raven in an attempt to fly and escape. However, he was not used to having been wearing human clothes, and for a few moments, he was tangled in them, flapping frantically in the air.

Before Lytha could hit the ground, she managed to save herself from falling.

Evanee got off the phone, finishing the catering order for the next party. When she came back with the peach-infused water, she noticed that Lytha was not in her seat, but on it instead was a squished tomato.

Lytha walked back to the group. "Great, now I have a tomato stain," she said.

"Lytha... what happened?" Evanee asked.

Lytha pointed at Odin. "That happened."

Marilee was trying to act normal. She didn't caw.

After a few moments of struggling, Odin the young raven popped his head out of his shirt with a triumphant caw. "Yes! Revenge is sweet."

Lytha went to change and came back out in a ballet dress. "Great..." she said, looking embarrassed. "I forgot I only had this on me..."

"Aww, you look cute!" Selene said.

Lytha blushed deep red.

"Her dancing is cute too, if you can ever get her to show you," Evanee said. "Anyway, new people, haven't met y'all. Some of you keep on seeming like you're in a deep conversation, with those faces."

Odin looked Lytha's way. "Why would you bring formal wear around with you? Are you wanting to go to a ball?"

"...I forgot I had a ballet performance as well after my singing performance for tomorrow," Lytha replied. "The ballet division is doing Sleeping Beauty, and guess what role I got." She sighed. "Odin, this is your fault."

Evanee grinned, darkness in her eyes. "I have a butcher knife in the back, if you want me to take care of the bird, Lytha."

"...It's okay, Evanee, it's just a stain," Lytha said.

"Oh, chippity choppity, this bird keeps being mean, and he’ll need to hoppity," Evanee added.

"Hmph! Huff and puff, human, or you'll blow all that hot air out of you," the little crow said snootily, turning his head sideways.

The door of the cafè opened again. This time, a red-haired girl walked in.

Evanee stopped, surprised Lytha hadn't scolded her yet. Evanee's mood immediately changed as the red-haired girl came in through the door. "Oh, hello! Lucy, right? I've met you before..."

The redhead nodded. "Yes, correct!"

"That voice...! Lucyyyy!!" Selene stood up and rushed to Lucy, hugging her.

"Hey, Selene! Are you doing fine?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, I am!"

Lytha turned to the door to see the red-haired girl named Lucy. "Nice to meet you, Lucy. I'm Lytha."

"Oh -- nice to meet you too, Lytha!" Lucy added.

Evanee turned back to Odin. "If you ever hurt Lytha, physically or emotionally, I'll make sure you don't have a tongue to talk with!"

Though Odin honestly had no intention of hurting Lytha's feelings or injuring her, no one threatened him like that and got away with it. "Try it," he said in a quiet voice full of tension, with an edge that was darker than anything he had shown before.

Lytha clapped her hands loud enough that everyone looked at her.

"Hm?" Selene turned toward Lytha, as did Lucy.

"Okay, first off -- Evanee, chill, Odin was just playing around," Lytha said. "Odin... calm down."

Evanee was silent for a moment.

"Second, how about I do a performance as my special way of everyone becoming friends? Besides, I need to practice for my performance tomorrow," Lytha said. "So how about it? I'm sure Selene would like to see a ballet performance, and this will relieve some of the tension around here."

"I suppose...?" Selene said.

"Got nothing against that," Lucy said.

"Yes please!" Evanee clapped, as she loved watching Lytha dance.

"Odin, Sagi?" Lytha turned toward them.

Odin the bird stood silently for a moment. He then sensed someone looking at him and glanced over to see Sagi's brown eyes gazing his way.

Sagi gave Odin a gentle, encouraging grin, then looked at Lytha and replied, "Yes, I'm sure we'd love to see that."

Odin sighed briefly, and in a feathered flurry changed back into a human boy, wearing the black clothing he had started with. While he did not make any move to switch back his clothing, he absentmindedly grabbed the clothes Lytha had bought him and plopped himself onto a chair, gently folding them up as he watched expectantly.

"Good; now then, shall we go to the terrace? There is more space there," Lytha said.

"I'm fine with it? But no one make a mess," Evanee said.

~~~~~~~~~

After the group headed outside and took their seats at the cafe's terrace, Lytha said, "Evanee, can you play the Sleeping Beauty music?"

"Yeah, I'll play the music and watch through the window," Evanee said.

After the music started, Lytha danced with grace to the music, and after two minutes, she stopped dancing. "Phew... I'm done," Lytha said as she went back into a standing position.

Evanee smiled from the counter, looking over at her best friend.

“It was a really good dance, caw!” Marilee said happily. She hadn’t realized she had said her tic.

"Thanks, Marilee," Lytha replied.

Odin was silent for a moment, though not exactly with shock or amazement. Oddly... his expression seemed nostalgic. "Kinda reminds me of home," he murmured absentmindedly.

"I did like the dance, Lytha! Nice job!" Selene said.

"Glad you guys liked it." Lytha looked at the time. "Welp, I better get going, it's already 6pm -- by the way, guys, do come to the town center tomorrow, okay? I will be performing there."

Sagi nodded. "Farewell for now, then. Perhaps I shall see you tomorrow."

Odin replied with a small, "...Let's meet again, human," while he clutched the folded clothes in his crossed arms.


	5. In Which Lytha Performs and Odin Makes New Friends

Lytha took a deep breath. "We still got 45 minutes before the show starts," she said. "I wonder if the others are here already?"

Evanee shrugged. "I'll go sit in the crowd, I suppose."

"Okay, I will see you later, when I'm on stage," Lytha said, waving goodbye to Evanee. "Well, better get dressed and do my hair." Lytha stood up and went to change.

Lytha came out in a dress with her hair tied up in a ponytail. "I hope this doesn't look weird."

"Lytha, the performance will begin in 30 minutes, so we need you to go rehearse with Autor," a student said.

"Oh joy," Lytha said. "After what happened, I don't feel like facing him."

Marilee was hiding in the tree outside the theater, as she could see everyone getting ready to perform or watch. She wanted to join the academy, but couldn't. At least she was able to watch.

Lytha walked to where Autor was so she could rehearse with him. While walking Lytha grumbled, "God, this is going to be stupid." Lytha walked in to see Autor playing the piano.

Sagi found herself free for the day of the performance, so she leisurely made her way over to the auditorium. Seeing the audience gathered, though, she didn't feel up for waiting in a crowd, so instead she went to a nearby quieter bench and sat down to wait for it to start. After sitting quietly for a moment, she took out a book and began reading it, on which was the title in German, "Fischküchen der Welt" (Seafood Cuisines of the World).

Seeing the crowd beginning to migrate to the audience area, Sagi closed her book and got up from the bench, joining the crowd of people watching.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the music division's performance will begin in five minutes," said a student in front of the theater to the crowd.

"Oh great, five minutes and I'm panicking again." Lytha peeked through the curtains to see the crowd in the audience seats. Lucy also sat in the crowd. "They are here! Okay... breathe, Lytha, you can do this," Lytha said to herself.

"Welcome, everyone, to the music division performance!!" said a student on the stage. "First up on our performance list is our songstress, Lytha! Give a round of applause, everyone!"

"Meep," Lytha said, walking out to the center of the stage.

Autor began playing the piano as Lytha started to sing.

 _♪_ _Constant as the stars above  
__Always know that you are loved  
__And my love shining in you  
__Will help you make your dreams come true  
__Will help your dreams come true_ _♪_

 _♪_ _The lamb lies down and rests it head  
__On its mother's downy bed  
__Dolphins play in the moonlight's glow  
__And butterflies dream of a violet rose  
__Dreams of a violet rose_ _♪_

 _♪_ _I'll cradle you in my arms tonight  
__As sun embraces the moonlight  
__The clouds will carry us off tonight  
__Our dreams will run deep like the sea  
__Our dreams will run deep like the sea_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Constant as the stars above  
__Always know that you are loved  
__And my love shining in you_  
_Will help you make your dreams come true  
__Will help your dreams come true_ _♪_

After Lytha sang the last note, she smiled and bowed at the crowd with Autor. Lytha looked up to see them smiling and waving at her.

Then Lytha remembered that she was supposed to perform Sleeping Beauty next, so she quickly changed and went backstage to get ready. "I hope I don't mess this up..."

"And now from the ballet division, we are performing Sleeping Beauty!" the student on stage said.

After the performance, Lytha sighed. "Phew, doing two different things is hard."

After clapping with the rest of the audience, Sagi noticed the big crowd filing out of the auditorium, and again decided she didn't feel like subjecting herself to it. So she sat at her chair in the audience, waiting for the crowds to trickle out.

Lisanna and Liam saw Sagi, and walked up to her.

Sagi saw the approaching siblings and blinked with slight surprise. "Oh, hello there," Sagi said with a small smile. "Did you watch your sister's performance, too?"

The twins nodded their heads. "Would you like to come with us to see Big Sis?"

"Huh? Isn't she still backstage?" she asked, confused.

The twins grabbed Sagi by the sleeves.

"This way, lady," Lisa said.

"Follow us," Liam said.

"Oh!" Sagi said, a little taken aback as she let herself be led along by the siblings.

Backstage, Lytha heard the door open to see her siblings and Sagi. "Lisa, Liam, Sagi!"

"Miss Lytha! You're here," Sagi said, stepping toward her once she saw Lytha. "Was that you dancing as well? I enjoyed the singing performance very much, but I wasn't expecting you to do another performance back to back..."

"Hehe, yes, that was me as Sleeping Beauty," Lytha replied. "Well, I mean, I am in two divisions, and originally we wanted Ahiru and Fakir since everyone thinks they are a couple, but Ahiru is in the beginner class and Fakir wouldn't pair up with other people, so they chose me as Sleeping Beauty." The twins were hugging Lytha.

"It was very good. I liked it a lot," Sagi said with a nod and a smile. "I hope you're not too tired, though... is this your last performance for the day?"

"Yep," Lytha said. "Thanks for coming to see me perform, I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, I'm glad I could make it," Sagi said. 

The twins came backstage again, dragging a boy. "Hey Sis, look who we found," Lisa said.

"It's a bird," Liam added.

"Ummm, Lisa, Liam -- where did you find him?" Lytha asked, while Sagi covered her mouth in surprise.

Odin gave both the twins dirty looks as he pulled himself out of their grips and crossed his arms. "That's a _raven_ to you, baby humans! And don't you grab me like that again, or I'll drop something mushy on your head."

"Come now, Odin, they are just children," Lytha said, standing up and hugging the twins.

" _I'm_ a fledgling, and _I_ don't go around grabbing humans and dragging them around places -- unlike _some_ humans I know!" Odin said with a pouty scowl.

"Lisa, Liam, apologize," Lytha said.

"Sorry," Lisa and Liam said.

Odin closed his eyes imperiously. "Well, since you sound sincere, I'll forgive you this time. But learn your lesson, or else you won't get off as easy."

Lisa and Liam hugged Lytha. "Mum, that man is scary," Lisa said.

"Yeah, scary," Liam added.

"He is my friend," Lytha said, before she realized that they called her mum, and she blushed bright red.

Sagi smiled slightly at the black-clothed boy. "It's all right, Odin. I think they want to be your friends, so you don't need to protect yourself that much."

"Mum?" Lisa and Liam asked. "Can we be his friends?"

"Why not ask him?"

The twins looked at Odin.

Odin glanced sidelong with a serious expression, with a hint of sadness in his tone. "But if you're scared of me, how can we be friends...?"

Lytha whispered something into the twins' ears, and suddenly the twins tackled Odin, giggling.

Odin found himself caught by surprise as he fell to the ground -- yet again. "Wha--hey!! What in the seven hells are you--?"

"Mummy said we have to tackle you to show you we are not scared, and want to be your friend," Lisa and Liam said.

Odin blinked, not expecting that explanation either. "What? _That_ was why...? But, weren't you scared before? I was acting scary, so you wouldn't mess with me..."

"But we want to be friends," Lisa and Liam replied.

"Even if you were really scared?" Odin asked sincerely.

"YES!"

Odin found himself in an unfamiliar situation, and so began fidgeting with an awkward grimace. "Oh, well... I don't know why you want to be friends with _me_ , but... umm, sure, fine. You can... be my friends. If you want."

Lytha laughed, and Sagi smiled wider. The twins got off Odin and went back to Lytha's side.

"Mummy, we made a new friend," they said to her.

Lytha giggled. "I see you did."

After the performance, Lucy headed out and met up with Selene.

Then, Lytha's father walked into the backstage area.

"Dad!!" Lytha exclaimed.

"I see you made more friends, my dear," her father said. "Well, sorry to bother you, but I'm here to take the twins home."

"Thanks, Dad. Bye!"

After Lytha's father left, Lytha added, "Well, time for us to leave as well."


	6. In Which Lucy, Selene, and Sagi Talk About the Town's Mysteries

Some days afterward, Lucy and Selene came back to the cafe, and they sat down and talked a bit.

After a few minutes, Sagi entered the cafe with a jingle of the door opening bell and saw the two already chatting at a nearby table. "Oh, good afternoon, Miss Selene, Miss Lucy."

Selene saw Sagi entering the café as well. "Hello, Sagi!"

"Have you been here long, or are you still ordering?" Sagi asked, noticing their table lacked used dishes.

"No, we just got here," Lucy said.

"Might I take a seat here, if you're not expecting others?" Sagi asked, placing a hand on an empty chair at their table.

Selene nodded. "Go ahead!"

"Thank you," Sagi said with a nod in return, taking the seat quietly. She picked up the menu and scrolled through it, not wanting to interrupt their conversation if they were still talking.

"Anyways... how was Lytha's performance?" Selene asked Lucy.

"It was pretty good! It'll be difficult to get as good as she is, considering I'm still in the beginner class."

"I'm sure you will get there, eventually!"

Lucy smiled. "Thank you, Selene, I appreciate the motivation."

After a waiter came by and took all their orders, Sagi paused for a moment after the waiter left. "Do you remember when this cafe first got here?" Sagi asked, looking thoughtful. "I feel like it only was here a few days, but it also feels as if it's already been here for years..."

"Now that you say it... I actually do not remember when it first got here," Lucy replied.

Sagi frowned, looking pensive. "That's what I thought, too. I thought that after all that happened with the Raven, people would be aware of magical things like this... well, assuming this is a result of something magical."

"Uhh... magical? Are you daydreaming?" Lucy asked.

Sagi blinked at Lucy, her eyes widening. "You mean... you don't remember? Like, about the Prince and Princess who were here?"

"No... should I?"

"All I can remember is a dance... and ravens. That is all..." Selene said. "Hell, I barely remember what happened on that day..."

Sagi looked at Selene. "Yes, ravens... there were a few incidents involving them that happened, truth be told..."

"I just wish I could remember all of what happened during that day," Selene said.

"Hmm... something seems off here," Sagi said. "It sounds as if both of you remember things differently from not only me, but from each other..."

"I'm not really sure of what to believe. What else do you remember, Sagi?" Lucy asked.

Sagi paused. "Well... do either of you remember any incidents where a gargantuan raven attacked the town? And if so, how many...?"

"I do not remember any incidents of that sort..." Lucy said.

"The only thing with ravens I remember is what I said before... maybe it has to do with that?" Selene asked.

Sagi touched her chin pensively. "It probably does, though it sounds like even those memories are hazy..." She paused, looking a little worried. "I could tell you what I remember, but it might be a little disconcerting. Would you be fine with that?"

"I'm definitely fine with that," Lucy said.

"I'm fine with that, too," Selene said.

Sagi nodded solemnly. "All right... well, I myself know of one incident where that large raven appeared in this town, but I have heard from my friends that it happened also before I had come here, and that a long while ago, there was yet another incident. But, no one remembered either of them until the third incident, which I witnessed firsthand...

"My understanding was that in the first incident, the raven was sealed away soon after arriving, but at a terrible cost. That cost resulted in a series of events that culminated in the second incident, where the raven was released, and... I was told the townspeople were... temporarily changed into ravens themselves by that giant raven."

"Three incidents...? Why did that raven attack this town so often?" Lucy asked.

Sagi turned to Lucy. "I... I'm not sure; I think the giant raven was sealed away or defeated each time, but... he kept coming back, after a lot happened each time."

"Wait...did one of the incidents involve a weird kind of rain?" Selene asked.

Lytha banged the store door open, and walked in wearing a pencil skirt and a frilly top that complimented the outfit and some high heeled shoes, with her hair up in a bun. She walked over to the girls and took a seat, grumbling about something.

"Hello, Miss Lytha," Sagi briefly nodded to her before returning to her explanation to the other two. "The incident I witnessed, there was a strange rain, but it hadn't done anything. I was told that the first time it happened was when... the town turned into ravens," Sagi said. "The second time though, that effect was prevented by one of my friends."

"What are you guys talking about?" Lytha asked.

Sagi thought a moment. "Umm... Miss Lytha, come to think of it -- when do you remember this cafe first being here? Or actually, when did you first come to Gold Crown Town?"

"...All I remember was that one day, while walking to school, I was brought here," Lytha said.

"Had you been going to school elsewhere before you were brought here?"

"I mean, I think I was, but... my memory is not clear," Lytha said, sipping on a cup of cinnamon coffee a waiter had just placed in front of her.. "I didn't really care as long as my family was safe. But, why the sudden question?"

Sagi paused. "Well... I've been getting the impression that a number of people here in the town have very different memories of what has happened in the past. There are a number of things I remember that others do not, but it seems the degree of that varies from person to person..."

"Regarding my memory, I'm sorry I can't help, but the sudden appearance of the cafe I can tell you guys," Lytha said.

"Do you know when this cafe had gotten here? It seems most of us don't remember it being built -- almost as if it just appeared here one day," Sagi said.

"The cafe was created by Evanee," Lytha replied.

" 'Created'...? Was she in charge of building it? How did it get here?"

"She created this cafe with her power, or gift you might say," Lytha said. "She has the same powers as Fakir, but not as strong."

Selene suddenly was silent...

Lytha sideglanced at Selene, who suddenly had went slient. "Fakir inherited the power of Drosselmeyer, the power to make stories come alive," Lytha continued. "And Evanee has the same power, but not as much as Fakir."

Sagi was not expecting that revelation. "I... I didn't realize more people knew about Fakir's powers," she said, blinking. "Or that more people had his power. But even just creating a cafe from nowhere, that sounds plenty powerful already..."

"I'm confused," Lucy said.

Lytha sighed. "...I will try my best to explain," Lytha said, taking another sip. "Okay, Drosselmeyer is a person who died a long time ago, but he has the power to turn any story he writes into reality. But what he loves most is despair, so every story he wrote would have a sad ending. Fakir being a descendant of Drosselmeyer, he has the power to turn stories to reality, so the events that happened in town about people turning into crows was Drosselmeyer's doing, and the ones who saved the town were Princess Tutu and Fakir.

"Now Evanee, Autor, and Fakir are cousins, but for some reason Autor did not inherit the power, which I don't know why, but Evanee managed to inherit some of the power, and Fakir being the direct great-great-great grandson, he inherited most of the powers," Lytha said. "And that's how the cafe came to be."

"So, did she decide to create a cafe one day just recently?" Sagi asked. "How long ago did Fakir and his friends know about her?"

"Well, Evanee only realized she had the power after she witnessed a romance going the same way as her story, so she decided to see if she could be enrolled in school with her power, which didn't work, but when she wrote about the cafe, it worked," Lytha said. "Autor has always been distant with Evanee, and Fakir just hadn't realized that Evanee was his cousin until this cafe came to be."

Sagi hesitated. "So... Mr. Autor hasn't told you about any sort of power he has?" _If he wanted to keep quiet about his musical powers, I suppose I shouldn't speak openly about it..._

"...Well, Autor is just a normal boy, which is why he was jealous of Fakir and Evanee," Lytha said.

"So, let me get this right," Lucy said. "Some tragedy-loving man with the power to bring the things he writes into reality decided to turn everybody into crows, and therefore, he may be the reason that the monster raven thing happened. Some girl going by the name Princess Tutu and a boy you know named Fakir saved the town, because he apparently shares the same power as that 'Drosselmeyer' man. And Evanee can do the same, but hers is just weaker. Did I forget anything?"

"...Ummm, Ahiru is Princess Tutu?" Lytha added.

"Ahiru...?" Lucy asked. "I do remember that name, but I cannot remember who that was..."

"She is in the beginner's class," Lytha explained. "Orange hair, always getting threats from Mr. Cat... Looks like a duck?"

Sagi frowned. "Wait... I do know that when I joined Ahiru in town, no one living in the town had remembered her, until after the third raven incident that I saw. I thought everyone remembered her after that, but..."

"Yep, that Ahiru," Lytha said. "You see, in Drosselmeyer's original story, Princess Tutu -- who is Ahiru -- was supposed to disappear after confessing her love to the prince. But instead Ahiru fell in love with someone else, and she didn't disappear. And the prince fell in love with the raven princess, and they got married, so happy ending."

"Yes... that was how it was when I first came here," Sagi said pensively. "Things changed a little since then, but I thought that people weren't missing memories anymore, though I see something is still off..." Sagi paused. "You don't think... Evanee's creation of the cafe has caused that, do you?"

"That's... something I don't know," Lytha answered.

Sagi looked forlorn. "I hope not, because creating a cafe is far from harmful magic... it's a nice place, and I wouldn't wish for it to go away. But I wonder if there's something else behind this that it's related to..."

"........" Lytha went quiet. "I too hope nothing goes wrong. But let's change the subject! How is everyone today?"

"I'm all right otherwise, I suppose," Sagi said. "Things have been uneventful beyond all this. After everything that happened before, maybe I'm just nervous that it's a false sense of security."

"That's nice to hear," Lytha said. "I have to go for a blind date."

"Have to?" Sagi asked, tilting her head.

Lytha stood up. "I normally wear this type of outfit if im going out with friends, but my aunt managed to trick me today, and I have to go on a blind date."

"Oh," Sagi said, looking dismayed. "I'm sorry your aunt forced you into it. Is she refusing to leave you alone?"

"More like she hopes to take over my father's family business."

Sagi frowned grimly. "It's quite unpleasant when family members force you to do things you don't want to do. Is there no way to get away from her?"

Selene suddenly stood up. "Sorry, but I have to go home, now..."

Sagi blinked. "Sure, but... is everything all right?"

"Yeah, is everything okay?" Lytha asked.

She nodded. "All is good, don't worry. See you later." And without another word, she left the café.

"Ah... she left," Lytha said.

Sagi looked pensive. "I wonder if anything we were talking about troubled her..."

"...I'm sure its nothing..." Lytha said.

Sagi looked at Lucy. "Might you have an idea of what it could be, if anything?"

"No, I do not..." Lucy replied.

"Well, I better get going, I have a date," Lytha said, blushing.

"Alright then, Lytha. Good luck on that date!" Lucy said.

"Thanks," Lytha said before she left the store, skipping.

Sagi said farewell to Lytha, wishing her luck on her date before she turned back to Lucy. "Hmm... unfortunately, I don't know that I'll be able to figure out more about any of this without investigating elsewhere. I wouldn't know where to start, though..."

"After what Lytha said, I actually have more questions than before," Lucy said. "Say, you've been mentioning a prince and a princess... do they have anything to do with the raven situation?"

Sagi nodded. "Yes, very much so. From what I know, the prince had originally came from the same place the raven had, which was another world apparently. He had been both the reason the raven was sealed away the first time, and also the reason the raven came back the second time -- in a way, at least. The prince lived here for a time, and even came back to visit when I had arrived here, but he returned home sometime afterward, so he's not here right now. ...Or else, that was how it was until recently," Sagi admitted.

"What about the Princess?" Lucy asked.

"As for the Princess..." Sagi paused. "Where do I start... She wasn't from the Prince's world, but this one. How she got involved in all this was..." Sagi took a breath. "The Raven I've been talking about kidnapped her as a baby, raising her in her parents' stead, telling her that she was a raven too, and not a human like she actually was. She thought she was princess of the ravens, and only later did she become the prince's Princess."

"And then they helped Tutu and Fakir in defeating the raven, I suppose..." Lucy finished.

"Yes, that's right," Sagi nodded. "After the third raven incident, I had thought everyone remembered what had happened. But it sounds like that's no longer the case. Come to think of it, I don't know that we've seen Drosselmeyer around lately," she realized suddenly.

"I do not know, but when it is true what Lytha said, that this man has the power to rewrite reality, it could be dangerous for anybody else if he'd show up again..." Lucy said.

Sagi furrowed her brow. "I'd be worried if I _didn't_ see him again... he was the most dangerous when people couldn't see him, or even knew about him. I thought we stopped his ability to affect reality for good, but who knows what trouble he could be causing otherwise."

"Bad people with bad intentions always want to find a way to cause more trouble. He could also mess with that Autor guy, or Evanee. The latter would be way worse," Lucy said.

"Evanee? Why do you say that? Do you think she'd be more easily manipulated, or...?"

"No, not by any means. It is just..." Lucy paused. "Lytha said Evanee has the same power. And if Drosselmeyer really wants something, he would have no problem with manipulating her. Who knows what his reality warping powers can do? But... I doubt he even knows about Evanee's existence."

"And Autor is already well familiar of the threat..." Sagi bit her lip. "I pray that continues... though that's all the more reason that she should be certain not to draw too much attention to herself in using her powers. A small cafe is one thing, but I hope she has no bigger plans than that..."

"I hope that too. I'd not want her to be manipulated by somebody who obviously does not get the meaning of an happy ending..." Lucy said.

Evanee skipped into the cafe, waved to Apollo, and stopped when the two looked at her strangely. “Uh... you all good?”

"Yes, we are," Lucy replied.

"What’s with the look you're both giving me? You look like you saw a house cat eat a chihuahua."

"Ah... well..." Sagi hesitated. "So, umm, Lytha told us you... created this cafe, is that right?"

Evanee blushed a little, sitting down with them and clearing her throat. "Lytha sure doesn’t know how to keep secrets... Yes. I think I did."

"You think? Was it not intentional?" Sagi asked.

“It wasn’t. I TRIED to get into the academy. This cafe? Nope. I had an urge to write a fantasy and I did."

Sagi touched her chin thoughtfully. "So when you wrote about yourself purposefully, it didn't work, but when you wrote about a fictional place without ulterior motives, it came true?"

Lisa and Liam walked into the store and ran up to Sagi. "Miss Sagi, have you seen our sister?" they asked.

"Hmm?" Sagi said. "Oh, she was just here. Miss Lytha said before she left that she was going on a date."

The twins looked at each other and nodded, running off and waving goodbye to Sagi. "Thank you, Miss Sagi!"

"Goodbye," Sagi said with a small wave back. "See you again." But to herself, she said, "...Wait, are they planning to go find her right now while she's still...?"

~~~~~~~~~

Lytha felt a shiver down her spine. She turned around, but saw no one. "...I'm being too paranoid."

Lytha turned backed to her date, hugging his arm and talking to him happily.

Meanwhile, the twins had lost sight of their sister, and while they were running, they bumped into someone...


	7. In Which Odin Scares Off Lytha's Blind Date

Odin was standing just outside of town, having just walked past the open gates of the surrounding wall. "I guess this town isn't locked up like that other town, even if it looks alike," Odin said to himself. "I can come and go here anytime with that odd portal in the town square..."

Then the twins bumped into him from behind. "What the--?!"

The twins looked up to see that it was Odin. "Hey, it's Brother Odin!"

"Oh, it's just _you_ two," Odin said with an exasperated sigh, but also relaxing subtly. "What are you all doing out here? This is a little far to be out playing; wouldn't you get in trouble with your sister?"

Lisa replied, "Sissy is on a date."

"A date," Liam said.

"A _date?_ " Odin said, with disgust. "Ughhh. Gross."

"Can you help us find Sissy, Odin-nii?" Lisa asked.

"Help us?" both of them asked with puppy eyes.

"Find her? What for? Do you need her for something?" Odin asked.

"We are spying on Sissy," Lisa said.

"Dad gave us permission," Liam added.

"You're _spying_ on her?" Odin said, sniggering. "Your father has a good sense of humor."

Odin thought a moment. Then, he grinned devilishly. "Yeah, all right," he said. "I'll help you find her -- as long as you don't tell her I'm there."

Lisa and Liam looked at each other and nodded. "Okay!"

With that, Odin turned into a bird with a flurry of feathers and flew up high. "She's around here somewhere, right? Let's see -- oh, she's right there," he said, spotting her almost immediately. "This way, this way," he said, flying toward the lake nearby, where the twins could follow from below.

"Woooow," The twins marveled, following Odin to the lake.

Upon reaching the lake, Odin watched the twins hide themselves in the bushes, and then he alighted in a nearby tree to survey his potential victim. The twins saw their sister talking to the man.

"So tell me, Lucas, why are we here at the lake?" Lytha asked.

"Well, so that we could enjoy time to ourselves," the man named Lucas answered.

"Couldn't we have done that at a cafe or something?"

"Yes, but I want to be alone with you. With no one around."

Odin silently snickered to himself. No one around, indeed...

Lucas started walking closer to Lytha.

"Umm, Lucas, you are kinda getting close..." Lytha said.

"It's fine, right? I mean, we are dating," he said.

Lytha was smiling nervously, while on the inside she was angry.

Odin rolled his eyes. Mushy stuff. Eww.

Then he glanced around and saw a big tree toad sitting innocently on the branch next to him. A devious idea began to hatch in his head as he realized that the tree he was perched in was located conveniently right above the pair.

Lytha was thinking of how someone just ought to save her. She walked backwards so that only Lucas was standing under the tree. "We may be dating, Lucas, but this is going too fast, don't you think?"

"Nonsense, this is perfectly fine..."

Quietly, Odin snuck up on the toad and after a moment, turned back into human form and grabbed the toad with both hands. He grinned victoriously and glanced downward, gauging the distance between him and the hapless human below...

Lytha saw a shadow and realized it was Odin holding... something. Thinking this was perfect timing to get rid of Lucas, she started walking backwards more slowly. "Look, I know you are dating me just for my family's fortune."

Lucas panicked a bit. "What, no... I truly love you!"

Lytha thought, _Odin whatever you want to do, do it now, pleaseee..._

Odin waited for juuuuuust the right moment, and when the human's head was in just the right position, he held out the toad above him and dropped it squarely on top of his head.

"WHAT THE!!?" Lucas saw the toad on his head and started running away.

Lytha burst out giggling as he fled. "......PFTTTT, hahahahahhahah!"

Odin sat on the branch above, laughing hysterically. "Hahahahaha! Did you see that human's face?! That was priceless!!"

"Hahaha... okay, Odin, you can come out now."

Odin hopped down off the branch, looking all too pleased with himself. "Why, hello, Lytha. How has your _date_ been going?"

"Well, _Odin_ , I have to thank you for this... you actually saved me," Lytha said. "I now know why acting is difficult. Trying to make it seem like I'm a weak girl is not easy."

"Huh? I _saved_ you?" Odin looked baffled. "But, uh, weren't you on a 'date'? That's where two humans go and be lovey-dovey and mushy and gross -- why would you have to act like a weak girl? What could I have saved you from exactly?"

Lytha sighed. "First, the _date_ was set up by my aunt, and from the moment I stepped into the cafe he was following me, so I decided to act like I was excited for the date. But he was dating me for my father's fortune," she added with another sigh.

Odin tilted an eyebrow. "...Well, in that case, you're welcome," Odin said with a proud, cheeky bow. "But I gotta say... if you didn't want to be on the date, you should have just told him that and then gone and done something you _wanna_ do."

"Well, if I had rejected the date, my aunt would have just set me up with another, so..." Lytha trailed off. "Also, why _were_ you following me? From what I know, you don't like these type of dates we humans have."

Odin crossed his arms. "Well, I just came upon a certain pair of human children who insisted on coming to see you... and then I just had to take an opportunity for fun when I saw it," he said with a mischievous grin.

"Wait... you don't mean..."

The twins tackled Lytha from behind. "Surprise!"

"You two!" Lytha exclaimed, looking back at Odin. "....Wait, let me guess: the twins bumped into you and asked you to help find me, only you didn't say yes at first; but once they said 'spying', you decided to help."

Odin put his hands behind his back, looking off to the side. "Maaaaaaaaybe."

Lytha smirked, breaking out into laughter again. "...Pffttt--hahahaha!" Then she petted the twins' heads. "Okay, you two, go home and tell Daddy I'm fine."

The twins nodded their heads and ran off.

Lytha turned back to Odin. "Come on, let's go to the cafe -- I will treat you to food as thanks for the rescue."

"Food?" Odin's eyes lit up. "What kinda food?!"

"Hehe... any food you want," she replied.

Odin clenched his fists and pumped them with enthusiasm. "Alright!! I totally won this day! You'd better be prepared to get me a table full of delicious food!"

"I promise," Lytha said. "Now come on, let's go!"


	8. In Which Evanee Causes an Incident

A short time later, Lytha and Odin walked into the cafe. "Go ahead and order, while I find the biggest table," Lytha said.

Odin picked up the menu, gaping at the variety and length. He hadn't realized the last time he was here how much food this place had! "Gimme a minute..."

Lytha saw Sagi sitting alone at the table she had been at earlier (as Lucy had gone to the bathroom shortly before) and walked up to her. "Hey there, Sagi."

Sagi glanced at Lytha. "Oh, Miss Lytha! You're back again. Did your date end already?"

"I had hoped it would have ended sooner," Lytha said. "I now know how actors feel."

Sagi frowned with dismay. "Oh dear... it went that badly, did it?"

Then she looked next to Lytha and noticed Odin come in with her, looking very excited as he perused the menu intently. "...Dare I ask what happened?"

"Well, long story short..." Lytha sighed. "You see... that 'date' was set up by my aunt, so I couldn't reject it in time, and the moment I entered the cafe I found out my 'date' was stalking me. Odin helped by scaring my 'date' off and now I'm treating him to whatever he wants."

Sagi blinked, glancing at Odin again. "You... helped Miss Lytha scare her unwanted suitor away? That's somewhat unexpected."

Odin looked up from the menu, frowning puzzledly. "Why would it? It was the perfect opportunity to play a funny trick on someone! And it looks like Lytha enjoyed it, so..." His eyes caught on something else on the menu. "Whoa! They have this, too?!"

"Well, I have to thank the twins for that," Lytha said.

"Your siblings?" Sagi asked. "Were they there, too?"

"I sent them home; apparently they were spying on me for my father, bumped into Odin while looking for me, and I assume the twins said something to him about spying. Odin got all interested, and you know the rest...."

Sagi sighed, shaking her head good-humoredly. "That's little Odin for you..."

With a resolved nod to himself, Odin gripped the menu decisively. "Alright, Lytha, I know what I want! Are you prepared to get me a mountain of food?"

"Go ahead, surprise me," Lytha said.

Almost like a war general, Odin whipped open the menu and pointed at it. "Alright, so I want this thing, this thing, all the things in this column except for that thing, and then..."

Odin went down the list ordering what was certainly a great amount of food, but was surprisingly specific, almost as if he was carefully measuring how much food he could or couldn't eat. "...And then, the rest of these things in this corner!" He shut the menu with a vehement thud. "Got all that?"

"Yes... yes, I did." Lytha turned to the waiter and ordered exactly the things Odin told her. The waiter's face was in shock, but he nodded and went to get the order.

"You want anything, Sagi?" Lytha said, turning to Sagi.

Sagi held up a hand gently, smiling. "It's fine; I've had what I wanted already. I'll just stay awhile and keep you company, if that's all right."

"That would be nice, seeing that most of this time, Odin will be stuffing his face with food," Lytha remarked.

"You'd better believe it," Odin said with a fervent nod. "Well, unless I feel like saying something, then I'll just talk while I'm eating."

Then a waiter came back with the orders.

"Oh lookie, food's here," Lytha said, looking at the amount of food.

Sagi marveled at how the waiter was able to balance a dozen different dishes on his arms, shoulders, and piles in his hands. She scooted aside to give the waiter room to place them all down on the table. Odin excitedly grabbed a knife and fork and sat perched on his chair, as if he were preparing to strike.

Lytha sipped on her coffee. "Well, this might be the last time I treat Odin, I mean unless I get another date set up by my aunt."

"I'm sure he's operating under the assumption that he never knows where his next meal is coming from," Sagi replied while Odin dug into the food as soon as the waiter placed a few of the dishes down on the table. "I'm almost certain he believes he might not get an opportunity like this again for a long time."

"Hahaha... that's true," Lytha sighed.

"Weh-lm," Odin began to say, finding that the food was getting in the way, and so he swallowed before he continued, "Well, if you wanna trade, you can get me food like this every time you need me to drop a toad or something on someone. Is that a deal?"

"After what happened today with Lucas, hmmmm... I doubt that will happen again, but deal."

" 'Kay!" Odin said blithely, continuing to eat with gusto.

"He reminds me of a little child," Lytha remarked. "Don't you think so, Sagi?"

"He is a fledgling raven, after all," Sagi said with a small smile. "A human child would act similarly, wouldn't they?"

"That's true." Lytha sighed again. "Man, it sort of sucks when you related to a noble family," she said, stirring her coffee.

Something Lytha said made Odin grimace and look a little less pleased than he had been. "The noble families I've seen don't know what it's like to starve," Odin mumbled to himself between bites.

"So you don't like nobles, Odin?"

"Along with a lot of other kinds of humans, yeah," he replied. "The noble humans from my homeland like to look down upon the pauper humans and treat them like mud under their shoes. The pauper humans can be pretty nasty too, but at least they have more of an excuse than the rich ones."

"Hmmmm... then in that case, you shouldn't like me..." Lytha said. "I mean, I am part noble... by blood at least."

"Are you saying you treat humans poorer than you like dirt?" Odin asked, looking seriously at her.

Lytha frantically waved her hands. "No, of course not! It's just that, you sound like you hate nobles to the core," Lytha said. "And with me having noble blood... " She shivered.

Odin grimaced. "If you wanted me to be really bluntly honest, humans suck in general. They can be so greedy, so cruel, so ignorant to each other. They hurt each other so much, and every time I see it, I hate it."

Lytha sadly smiled. "Humans are like that, but not in my family, of course, we love each other... Anyways, you both want to hear my parents' love story? It's quite funny."

"Umm... sure," Sagi said, trying to lighten the mood.

Odin's mood however seemed to have soured, and he continued eating silently with a sullen expression.

"Okay, so my mom was a noble, and my dad was a gardener at the time, working for that family. So it was a forbidden love; slowly my mom fell in love with Dad, and they decided to get married, but of course the nobles said no. Soooo my mom decided to abandon the noble's family name and married my dad. Every time I hear the story I can't help but wonder why Mom ended up with Dad," Lytha laughed.

"Mmm, I see," Sagi said with a nod and a polite smile. Though, she glanced briefly at Odin with concern, who was continuing to eat, but his previous enthusiasm was not returning.

"I kinda ruined his mood, didn't I..."

"Odin, is there anything in particular that Miss Lytha said that bothers you?" Sagi asked, looking at him gently.

Odin paused. "It's just... that's what I usually see from humans who are well-off like nobles and rich merchants," he said with complete seriousness. "They like to bury themselves in indulgences and their own squabbles and pittances while ignoring the ones around them who suffer because it dampens their pleasures of the moment. It keeps on happening... and the cycle continues on, and on."

"I understand, but Mom was different. She would always help the poor and was always humble."

"I'm not talking about your mother, then," Odin said, looking at her. "After all, by herself, she can't stop the other cruel ones from making life awful for the other ones, right? Maybe no one can."

Stepping into the cafe came Marilee. The girl had enough money to get a hot meal today, though she was going to have to figure out what to do next week. The girl fidgeted as she tried to find a spot to sit at.

"You know, Mum used to say she helped raise crows back when she was a noble. Which was kind of weird..." Lytha saw Marilee walking in and waved at her. "Hey, Marilee!"

Marilee spotted them, and smiled before she walked over to them. “Hey!”

"........" Lytha stared at Marilee before patting her head.

"Hello, Miss Marilee," Sagi said with a nod to the black-haired girl. "I hope you're doing well today..."

The girl nodded her head as she smiled. “I’m doing good, caw. I mean, thanks!” she said quickly.

"Now I see why mom loved crows," Lytha said, still petting Marilee on the head.

"They're 'cute' when they're small and harmless, but when they get powerful enough that they could possibly hurt you, does that change?" Odin said quietly.

"Nope," Lytha stopped petting Marilee and went to pet Odin.

Odin curled away slightly, but didn't push her away. "But why? What would you have to gain from that?"

"Hmmmm, I like petting people -- I mean, such soft hair," Lytha said. "And besides, you seem to be okay with it."

"No, it's not that," Odin said a little avoidantly. "I'm asking why would your mother, or you, have to gain from taking care of crows. We're not humans; we're not the same people as you. We're not your family."

"We gain nothing," Lytha said, grinning. "I mean, do we need a reason for taking care of crows? Besides, anyone can have a family as long as there is love and a bond."

"....." Odin didn't appear to know what to say to that, so he continued eating quietly, perhaps not with the same gusto he had before, but he seemed less upset than he had been.

"So Marilee, what's up?" Lytha asked.

Marilee had no idea what had happened, but the girl simply let it pass. She nearly made a crow noise in surprise. "Oh... um... just living..."

Lytha looked confused. "O...kay... so, want to eat anything ? I can treat you," Lytha grinned. "I mean, I'm already treating Odin here," she said as she pointed at Odin, who was still stuffing his face with food.

"Ah! It's okay. I got enough money to pay this week!" Marilee said. She didn’t realize what she had let slip.

"This week?" Lytha asked. "Marilee... are you having money issues?"

"...Bills!” she replied.

"Marilee... are you hiding something?"

"No! It's just, rent is a little higher this month, is all," Marilee answered.

"Hmm, okay, I won't ask... for now," Lytha said.

At this point Odin had finished an entire plate, so as he pushed it aside to grab another one, he looked at Marilee. "So, you never answered my question the other day, and I still wanna know, of course. But instead of asking the same question again, lemme ask this: what do you think of ravens?"

Marilee blinked twice at this. "What I think about them..." The girl thought about it for a moment. "Free... They're free and intelligent creatures. Sure, they have issues of their own... but they are quite honest and always come with luck," she answered honestly, with a smile on her face. Seeing a raven had been what gave Marilee the courage to go on in this town.

Suddenly Evanee bust into the cafe, tripping and falling on her face in the process.

Marilee looked over to see what had happened, while Lytha rushed to Evanee's side. "You okay, Evanee!?" Lytha asked.

Evanee raised her hand in a thumbs up. "I'm fine, I just forgot some things here that I need... for reasons..."

Lytha held out her hand to pull Evanee back on her feet, and Evanee took it. "Oh, hi Marilee, I overheard you talking about ravens coming in. Knew it was you."

Sagi looked a bit surprised. "Evanee! We had just been talking with you a short while ago... you disappeared so quickly, though -- did something happen?"

"Sorry about that, something came up. Important. I needed to resolve it as fast as possible," Evanee replied.

Sagi hesitated. "...All right, I'm glad it was resolved," she said carefully. "So, umm, back to what we had been talking about... you had said you hadn't meant to create this cafe. Was your story completely unrelated to a cafe, or did anything in it come true...?"

Lytha whistled, looking away. "Sorry, Evanee... I forgot I spilled the beans."

Evanee gave her a side look and sat down. "I write when I'm stressed. Helps me get out of this world, ya know? I was at home, and I started imagining a place of happiness. So I wrote a story about a girl who worked at this cafe. I was just establishing the setting when my candle blew out from a gust of wind, so I put the pen down to check out the window. I then went to sleep, and the next morning, I was walking down the street and Mr. Apollo asked if I could help him move a heavy table. I went in here, and my imagination had come true!" She paused. "When I asked him about the development, he didn't seem to remember."

"Come, Evanee, sit down," Lytha said. "Want to drink anything?"

Evanee shook her head.

"Evanee, you okay? Are you mad I told them about your power?"

Evanee shrugged. "I'm fine, I just have a lot going on right now."

Sagi leaned on her arm pensively. Was it at all related to the matters of concern lately? "Do you know about Drosselmeyer and what he's done in this town?"

Lytha kept her mouth shut but continued drinking her tea.

Marilee tilted her head. "Who's Drosselmeyer?"

"Well, yes, of course! Took forever for someone to fill me in, but now I know all about him."

"Autor?" Lytha asked.

Evanee nodded, sighing at the mention of her cousin.

"He always was a loudmouth," Lytha said, mumbling something about that one time she asked Autor for help, but he kept talking.

"He's only ever a loudmouth if he is bragging, or trying to bring others down," Evanee remarked.

"No kidding."

Sagi nodded. "Alright. Well, in regards to Drosselmeyer, I'm a little concerned. I've been asking around, and it sounds like everyone remembers a different version of the events that have happened recently, or else doesn't remember them at all. It's a little too strange for it to just be coincidence..."

Marilee simply sipped her drink at this point. She arrived in this town only a year ago, but it seemed something happened that she was not aware of.

"I don't remember much in general, so you got me tied up," Evanee said.

"Hmmm, same, not much I remember," Lytha added.

"Hmm...." Sagi's brow furrowed, her concern deepening. "Even though people remember Drosselmeyer, and even what he did, everything afterward is suddenly vague. Even if someone erased the memories on purpose, why would they leave that part but then affect everything afterward...?"

"........." Lytha was silent.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You think this whole memory thing is a Story Spinner thing?" Evanee asked.

Sagi nodded solemnly. "I fear it is. That's why I wanted to ask you -- to see if you had any knowledge or insight on all of this."

"Wouldn't Autor or Fakir know more?" Lytha asked. "I mean, I'm sure Autor will ramble on and on..."

"...Exactly... what are you all talking about?" Marilee asked.

"Oh, ummm..." Lytha paused. "We were talking about a very old man who is better off dead like he is supposed to be."

"That's not enough information for poor Marilee," Evanee said.

"But he is... uhhhh, old and stinky and rude and smirky and..."

"No no, the whole story, Lytha," Evanee insisted.

"Do I have to explain?" Lytha asked. "He is such a... " She mumbled something unintelligible.

"Well... basically..." Evanee gave a rundown of The Prince and the Raven, along with Drosselmeyer's involvement.

"He is a stinky old dude, and smirky," Lytha said again.

Sagi nodded. "That's my understanding of what happened shortly before I got here."

"Lytha... have you even met him?" Evanee asked.

"...I have," Lytha said, looking deep in thought.

"You WHAT?" Evanee exclaimed.

"And it was not pleasant," Lytha added.

"Wha--when? How?"

"When I first arrived at Kinkan Town," Lytha replied. "Why is this a shock?"

"My understanding was that no one had any idea that Drosselmeyer was there, much less that he was controlling the town, until the day he was trapped here in this world," Sagi said. "Unless they were part of the 'story' that Ahiru and her friends were in..."

Lytha paused. "I was supposed to be part of the story."

Marilee looked at Lytha with some worry, before the girl reached out and gently squeezed her hand.

" 'Supposed to'...?" Sagi blinked, confused. "You weren't part of the story in the end, then?"

"Well, you could say I was part of it for a short while."

"Hmmm..." Sagi looked thoughtful. "It sounds like you've been here in this town the longest, and yet, you seem to remember less than we do. It's so strange."

Lytha sighed. "...I made a deal with the old man. The deal was, I wanted no part in his story, and in exchange, most of my memories were sealed, and I am not allowed to leave Kinkan," she said. "I remember this deal because I wrote it down."

Sagi covered her mouth, her eyes widening. "Oh my word..."

Lytha took out a piece of paper and placed it on the table. "This is the deal," Lytha said. "Go ahead and read it."

The paper said:

_I, Lytha, hereby make a deal with Drosselmeyer. In exchange for not putting me and my family in the story, I have agreed to have most of my memories sealed, and vow never to leave Kinkan for the rest of my life._

_Signed, Lytha._

Sagi picked it up and read it over, holding it out so that the others could read it along with her.

After she finished reading, Evanee exclaimed, “Why would you make this deal?!"

"I... had to..." Lytha said.

"And risk your future?" Evanee asked.

"It was my future or my family's future," Lytha replied.

Evanee concealed her frustration, digging her fingernails into her own skin under the table.

Marilee suddenly ran off toward the bathroom, as if the tense situation had made her feel ill, where Lucy was also still lingering.

Sagi paused a moment. "Wait... if this was based on a deal with Drosselmeyer... then, if Drosselmeyer isn't able to control this town anymore, would you still be...?"

"A deal is a deal," Evanee said.

Sagi glanced at Evanee. "If he's not around to enforce it, then would it make a difference...?"

"Deals can’t be broken by an outside force," Evanee said. "It’s a deal with a high power. A deal in writing. The fate is sealed. The only way for it to break and for her to be free is if--"

"If what?" Lytha asked.

“Never mind.”

Sagi tilted an eyebrow at Evanee. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

"It doesn’t matter," Evanee replied.

"If it affects Lytha's freedom, I think it does matter," Sagi said, still in her even, calm voice, but oddly insistent for her usual temperament.

Evanee turned her head away. "It's too risky."

"I have already risked a lot by making a deal with the devil; I don't see how this would be bad," Lytha said.

Sagi exhaled. "To be fair, if Miss Lytha has no reason to exit the town right now, she doesn't have to try to do so -- but, I don't know that she'd want to go on living here not knowing whether or not that was still the case." She looked at Lytha. "What do you think?"

"...I... I don't know, I mean -- I have always wanted to travel," Lytha said.

Sagi looked at her. "Have your siblings ever wanted to see the outside world?"

"But the deal is only about me! This has nothing to do with the twins, right?"

"I'm sure they wouldn't want to leave you behind, though," Sagi said. "If you were stuck here, I don't think they'd want to leave you here on your own."

Odin raised his hand, as if to say stop a moment. "I've got something to say. Remember what happened lately, Lytha, when we first met?"

"I only remember a green haired woman," Lytha said.

Evanee sat silently, soaking in their conversation.

"Well, as far as I remember, we were transported somewhere else for a short amount of time," Odin said. "Then we were suddenly brought back, and I was wondering if I had dreamed the whole thing. But then when I saw you again in this town, I knew it wasn't. And that town wasn't the same as this one." He smirked. "Get the picture?"

"...You don't mean..." Lytha said.

"Yeah -- you've _already_ been outside of this place," Odin said, grinning at her. "So you already know the answer to that question!"

"...Can I really leave?" Lytha asked.

"You went as far as the lake, right?" Odin asked. "It's technically outside the town borders -- I bet if you went farther, nothing would happen then, either."

Evanee slammed her fist on the table, droplets of blood poking out from the spots her nails had left. Then, she rose from her seat and stormed away into the back room. Sagi gasped, startled by her outburst.

Odin was no less shocked, but glared in Evanee's direction with bafflement as she left. "What in the seven hells is her problem?"

A few moments later, she comes back in, this time a journal in her hands. She doesn't sit down, instead flipping aggressively through the pages with her pen in her mouth.

"Evanee... you are not planning to use your powers, right?" Lytha asked.

Evanee doesn't answer. Instead she stopped for a second and shot Lytha a cold glare.

"Wait, stop it -- you know what will happen if Autor or Fakir knows you used your power!!"

Evanee looked down at her papers. "It's too late for that, Lytha."

Odin noticed the cold glare Evanee had given Lytha, and a shadow crossed his own eyes. "What are you doing, human?" he says in a low voice.

Evanee looked at Odin, muttering under her breath, "Call me human one more time as though they are inferior..."

Odin gave her a look full of disdain and hatred. "I'm gonna call you exactly what you are, filthy human!" And without warning, he turned into a raven and dove for her journal, trying to knock the pen out of her hand.

Evanee grabbed the bird by his chest, allowing for him to peck at her fingers.

After being grabbed, Odin turned back into a boy and continued trying to knock the pen out of her hand even after Evanee had him by the throat.

"Wait, you two, stop fighting!" Lytha exclaimed.

The journal dropped to the ground, and Lytha rushed to pick up the journal, opening it in the process. Inside it was writing of blood across the pages. The handwriting was unusually shaky, and there were tear stains on the leaflets.

"Evanee... please," Lytha said. "Let go of Odin and calm down..."

"That human's trying to hurt you, I just know it!" Odin yelled at Lytha. "Either you, or Miss Sagi, or anyone else!"

Evanee opened her hand, releasing the boy's throat, and the blood on her hand flew into the air like a ribbon down onto the pages.

"Evanee, what are you doing?!" Lytha exclaimed.

The journal shut and locked itself, and Evanee collapsed to the floor on her hands and knees.

"EVANEE!" Lytha cried. "What did you do -- what's happening?!"

"Don't... touch me," Evanee said.

When Evanee collapsed, Odin pulled himself away from her and stood next to Lytha, with an arm out in front of her as if to protect her. "I don't know what she was doing, but I don't think it was anything good!"

"Odin, wait! Evanee is my best friend," Lytha said.

"If she's your best friend, why is she stopping you from getting your freedom?!" he yelled back.

"Please, Odin, let me help her."

A burst of low laughter came from Evanee.

"Evanee?" Lytha asked.

"Prevent her from her freedom? The price of the devil is high, extorting his price only makes things worse in the end," Evanee said. "You, little bird, know nothing of the costs."

"Devil? I don't know about any devil, but this was just some old human we were talking about, wasn't it?" Odin said, continuing to glare at Evanee, not moving from his place in front of Lytha.

“Oh...” Evanee stands up slowly, her hair now wildly wrapped around her shoulders “The story spinner takes no deal lightly. He proclaims godliness in a world of darkness, is that no different from the devil?”

"Hmph," Odin says, a dark gleam crossing his crimson eyes. "Who's to say you're not talking with another devil right now?"

"Odin!" Lytha exclaimed. "Evanee, please stop whatever you are doing!"

"Stop twisting the laws of your deal," Evanee said.

"What?" Lytha asked.

Sagi clutched her hands over her mouth, clearly torn as to what to do about the situation. She glanced at Odin, seeming the most scared for him than anyone else. "Odin, don't..."

"The more you try to break free from those boundaries, the more I have to resist," Evanee said.

"...Evanee..." Lytha said.

"They say that when we die, we leave our debts with relatives and loved ones. Drosselmeyer had no loved ones, but he had a bloodline."

"Evanee, what are you talking about?" Lytha asked. "Stop scaring me..."

"You think I want to end your freedom? I am in shackles. I am bound to a fate that will end in blood."

Lytha took a step back. _This is all my fault,_ Lytha thought, clenching her fists.

Evanee turned back to Lytha. "Give me the journal."

Lytha hugged the journal close to her chest.

Beads of blood continue to slip out of Evanee's wounds and toward the journal, seeping through the crevices.

"Odin, can you stop her!?" Lytha cried out. "Without hurting her..."

"I'll continue to feel the pain if you don't give it to me," Evanee said.

Odin's eyes are narrowed, but his hostility is calm and controlled. "Keep hold of that journal, Lytha. If you want Evanee back, don't let it go."

"...But!"

"You don't want whatever this is to take her away, do you?!" he says, not turning around, still looking at Evanee.

"You pureblooded idiots," Evanee said.

"Who are you?" Lytha asked. "You are not Evanee..."

"The longer that thing is away from me, the worse it gets," Evanee said.

"Like we're going to believe what you say after all of this," Odin retorted.

Lytha walked towards Evanee.

"Lytha!" Odin yelled.

"Oh, dear, I swear upon the stars I am Evanee. I can't say the same for who I'll become in the upcoming moments."

Lytha stood in front of Evanee. "If I give you the journal, will you bring Evanee back?"

"I swear it upon her life."

"Lytha, are you a fool?!" Odin shouted. "If you do that, she's just going to--!"

"ODIN!" Lytha cried out. "...Please trust me."

Lytha held out the journal to Evanee. "The moment you take the journal, return her to me... please."

Before Evanee could take it, it unlocked and flipped to the most recent page. "That's what would have happened anyway," she whispered before her wounds released the last of their blood and sealed back up.

The pages glowed as Evanee took them into her hands, and scarlet writing appeared in the pages before the book shut again, collapsing as Evanee did.

"EVANEE!" Lytha shouted.

Evanee ran a hand through her own hair, flipping the locks to reveal her face. "I'm fine... I'm fine..." she said with a heavy breath.

Lytha held out her hand and slapped Evanee.

"Owwwww," Evanee rubbed at her cheek. "I'd understand if that was from Odin, but you? Yeesh."

"Don't act like the last five minutes didn't happen, you dumb human!" Odin yelled angrily.

"YOU IDIOT!!" Lytha yelled. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! WHAT POSSESSED YOU TO DO THAT!"

"Nothing possessed me..."

"You'd better hope it was," Odin said, glaring down at her. "Or else, if it was really you..."

"It's my writing." Evanee sighed, standing up and sitting on the counter.

Lytha held out her hand again, but pulled back and clenched her fist.

"I can't control it," Evanee said. "After I came back from looking for my parents, I started having strange dreams and waking up in the middle of the night, to find myself writing out a darker story with my own blood."

Lytha clenched her fists until her nails were digging into her skin, making her bleed. "........."

"They don't become real, they aren't tragedies like Drosselmeyer. They are these strange warnings and premonitions," Evanee looked down at Lytha's fists. "Relax."

Lytha turned to the other two people in the room. "Odin, Sagi, can you keep an eye on Evanee for me?"

Evanee rolled her eyes at the request. She totally needed this, of all things.

Sagi looked at Lytha with worry. "Where are you going...?"

"I'm going to look for _that person_ ," Lytha said, turning and leaving to find Fakir or Autor.

Back in the bathroom, Marilee was feeling better after spending a fair amount of time in there alongside Lucy. She hated feeling sick after eating, and the young girl wanted to head back home. She looked at Lucy apologetically. "I'm sorry..."

Evanee stood up, putting the journal down on the counter and facing the others.

Odin followed Evanee with his eyes like a hawk, grabbing a chair and sitting nearby, glaring at her with a very suspicious expression, as if she were going to attack them out of the blue at any moment.

She looked at Odin, and opened her mouth, only to close it again. "I, uh... I'm sorry about your neck."

"That's not the only time I've ever had someone try to strangle me," Odin said somewhat casually. "I'm much more angry at whatever _that_ \--" he says, jabbing his head toward the journal, "--was about!"

"I'm sorry, I really am. The fact is... it's still me, but it's like.... my empathy for others is blocked off."

At that last part, Odin stopped, and he suddenly looked pensive. "....Is it like, your heart suddenly isn't there, maybe...?"

"Kind of... but it's more as if I find joy in the pain."

Odin frowned. "The way you were talking though, you didn't seem happy at all. You were just laughing. The kind of laughing I hear humans make when they're led up to the gallows."

Evanee frowned at this, her eyes tearing up a little. "There is this thing inside me, pushing me to bring pain and hurt onto others. Back then, I was doing everything I could to resist it. I felt torn, worn down by trying to scream my way out," she said. "When I said I was in shackles, that was completely me."

Odin glanced off to the side, looking grim. "If your own heart is what's causing you to suffer... if that's what's shackling you... is that what needs to be fixed?"

Sagi glanced at the raven boy with puzzlement. "But, Odin, how could...?"

"I'm not so sure it's my heart, though..."

"You said it was still you, wasn't it? That it was from within your own soul?" Odin asked. "If it's not your heart that ails you, what else could it be?"

"I don't--" Evanee froze, looking down at her hand. "I think... I think it's my blood. All I know is that I get these strong urges to write in that journal; the longer I don't, the more painful it becomes, and the more I want to hurt other people. When I write in it, I have no control of my hand, it just... writes its own way."

Evanee continued to explain her powers while Lytha ran through the town...


	9. In Which Ahiru and Fakir Talk About Evanee

Elsewhere in the town, Ahiru skipped up to Fakir where they had previously planned to meet.

There standing by the large fountain, Fakir stared at the trickling water. His face was pensive and brooding -- his usual face.

"Fakir!" Ahiru called out, grinning as she stopped abruptly to face him.

"Hey." Fakir turned to face her, but he seemed apprehensive.

"What's wrong?" Ahiru tilted her head.

"It's--it's..." He sighed as he rumpled his hair. "You've noticed the strange things happening, right?"

Ahiru nodded, sitting down on the bench in front of the fountain, motioning him to join her.

He took the seat next to her, slouching over a bit with his arms resting against his legs. "That girl... 'Eva', was it?"

Ahiru looked at him for a second, trying to remember the academy students; there wasn't an Eva, was there? "Oh! You mean Evanee? The girl at the cafe thingy?"

"Yeah, her. The cousin that Autor seems to know pretty well..." Fakir said. "I wonder what other family I have that I don't know about..."

Ahiru looked down at her knees. How was she supposed to comfort him? He didn't exactly enjoy talking about his family. "Do you... think of Autor and her as family?"

Fakir looked distantly at the water flowing from the fountain. "...No, not really."

"Fakir..." Ahiru hesitantly put her hand on his shoulder for comfort. "Then, what's wrong?"

"What if... what if I tried to help, but something bad happens? Or even worse, someone dies. Because of me." Fakir closed his eyes. "I can't do this, ANY of this -- the Spinning, this dread, this looming disaster -- all over again!"

"But it won't be _you_ writing this time; you'd be teaching her to not make the mistakes that may or may not be made. Autor couldn't teach you properly, but at least you can help."

"Then why didn't Autor train her? Like he already did with me, that smug bastard?"

"I think she mentioned him putting her through the same training, too..." She looked at her close friend. "I think--I think maybe Evanee looks up to you, Fakir."

Fakir scoffed. "Such a stupid thing to do."

Ahiru instinctively reached for his hand. "But it's not! You are amazing -- without you, Kinkan may not have gone back to normal, Drosselmeyer wouldn't have been defeated, and I wouldn't be here. I know you don't think you are worthy -- not through being a knight, and not through your writing, but you are a hero to me," Ahiru blushed slightly at this, taking her hand away.

He turned his head away, both in embarrassment and to direct his focus elsewhere. "...Thanks," he mumbled.

Ahiru stayed silent for a moment, then looked at him.

However, Fakir still sulked in his seat, not meeting her eyes.

"Hey, Fakir... look over here."

He slowly turned to look at her, peering at her from the corner of his eye.

"You helped me. Even when I was hopeless, when I was drowning in despair, you stood with me. You wrote my narrative so that I could be strong. Let me help you with this," Ahiru said. "You aren't alone. Not as long as I am still breathing, if we fight, we fight together."

Ahiru rested her hand on his cheek, bringing her memories back to the pas de deux in the lake.

Fakir's expression was pained, but he let himself rest in her hand. "Alright," he says softly.

He moved away from her touch, looking relieved as if the weight of the world had come off his shoulders. "Thank you. I guess I need to find Evani and tell her."

Ahiru smiled at the relaxed look in his eyes.

Lytha was panting when she reached the large fountain. Fakir hadn't been in school or at the library, and Autor was also nowhere to be found. She started panicking. "What do I do? I can't find them!"

Lytha looked up to see Fakir and Ahiru sitting, and ran up to them.

Fakir noticed the girl approaching them. _The cafe-girl's friend?_

"Oh, hello, Lytha," Ahiru said.

Lytha grabbed Fakir's arm with her bloodied hand.

Fakir was surprised at the blood and her sudden action. "Wh-what?"

"Wha--! Lytha, what's going on?! What happened to your hand?"

Lytha was shaking. "Please, Fakir... you are the only one who can help Evanee."

Fakir groaned. "Don't start talking extremes like that."

Ahiru looked at Fakir, then back to Lytha. "Did something happen? Is she alright?"

"Evanee, she... well, she started acting weird after what I said... blood was dripping out of her and into a journal, and she went all dark, like Drosselmeyer."

"What--Something obviously happened. Lytha, take us to her," Fakir said.

"Follow me," Lytha said, leading them ahead to the cafe.


	10. In Which Fakir and Ahiru Investigate the Incident

When they reached the cafe, Lytha rushed inside, with Ahiru and Fakir behind her.

Evanee shot up at the sight of her friend and the two others. "Lytha, I'm fine, there's no need--"

Lytha hugged Evanee. At first Evanee was tense, but slowly, she relaxed into her friend's embrace. "It's okay, I'm alright," Evanee said.

Fakir walked in and blinked in surprise at the messy scene in front of him.

Sagi glanced at Fakir. "Did Miss Lytha tell you two the situation...?"

Ahiru shook her head at Sagi. "Unfortunately, just a brief explanation," Ahiru said. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Let me explain," Lytha said. "After I told them about my deal with Drosselmeyer, Evanee started acting strange."

"...Wait, what?" Fakir said.

"You made a deal with... Drosselmeyer?" Ahiru asked.

Marilee slowly came out of the bathroom as she noticed there were a lot more people present in the dining room than before. She nearly made a small caw noise, wishing she had brought her mask with her.

Sagi went to the table and held out the piece of paper with Lytha's deal on it. "This is what she gave us regarding that deal she mentioned..."

Getting furious, Fakir gestured angrily in the air. "Why would you make a deal with Drosselmeyer, of all people?!"

"That's what I said!" Evanee exclaimed.

"I HAD TO -- FOR MY FAMILY!" Lytha yelled, grabbing the paper with the deal from Sagi and handing it to Fakir.

"And if you've ever read a fairytale, dealing with the devil never ends right!" He grabbed the paper and read furiously.

Evanee grunted and took a deep breath. "Fakir, calm down. Now. If I'm affected by this, you might be, too."

Fakir passed the paper so Ahiru could read it, too. "Affected? Wait--no, go on. You guys were going to get to that, weren't you."

Ahiru looked down at the paper, horrified at how similar the deal was to the one she made.

"I thought this was just some old human, though," Odin said, looking at the two people who had just arrived. "Was this even some devil anyway, in the first place?"

Fakir made a quick but stern glance at the dark haired boy, as if he recognized him somehow, but not from anywhere pleasant.

"I was not going to let Drosselmeyer ruin the twins' lives with his stories," Lytha said.

Marilee fidgeted at this as she frowned a little. The girl didn't understand what had happened, but it was clearly serious.

Fakir's eyebrow twitched at the implication that Drosselmeyer was still toying with people's lives. "And? What happened when Evanee acted strange?"

Evanee grasped the journal again, opening it up to show what the blood had written.

Sagi put a hand to her mouth anxiously. "She... kept saying that she needed the journal, that 'the longer it was away from her, the worse it got'..."

"........." Lytha was silent.

Fakir cocked an eyebrow at Sagi. "That she needed the journal? Is she bound to it?"

"Seems like it, blood seeped out of her and into the journal," Lytha said.

"It what?" Ahiru asked.

Fakir quickly went over to Evanee, who was picking her nails nervously, and roughly grabbed her hand, showing her bloody palm. She yelped.

"Hey, don't be so rough!" Lytha said.

Evanee shut the journal with her other hand and stared at him coldly.

Fakir scanned her injuries, then released her from his grasp and went off to get a first aid kit, grumbling something about 'if you need it done, you gotta do it yourself'.

"... Fakir?" Ahiru followed him.

"Wha--Where are you going?!" Evanee asked.

"Evanee, calm down, you lost a lot of blood after what happened," Lytha said.

"To get some dressing for those cuts," Fakir said as he left. "It's going to get infected, curse or Spinner power or not." He came back with a kit and some soaked towels.

Lytha walked over to Odin. "Odin, is your neck okay?"

Odin sighed. "Yeah, it's fine. I've dealt with worse." He glanced over at Fakir. "Be careful about touching the blood directly," Odin warned. "It sounds like it's controlling her somehow; there's no telling if it'll do the same to you."

Fakir stared at Odin, trying to gauge his words. "...Fine," he replied shortly.

Lytha walked over to Evanee and stood beside her. "........"

Evanee stood up, surprised that Fakir was dressing her wounds. Perhaps he wasn't an ass?

Ahiru looked at Fakir. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Lytha kept slient, took one of the towels, and began wiping Odin's bruises.

"It's okay, you don't have to fuss over me..." Odin said, though he didn't stop Lytha from doing so.

Lytha smiled sadly. "You wouldn't be injured if it wasn't for me."

Evanee's eyes teared up. "I'm really sorry for scaring all of you."

"Evanee....." Lytha said.

Evanee looked at Lytha.

Fakir looked over at Lytha and Odin, making sure that they were actually properly attending the wounds, and to keep an eye on the boy.

After Lytha finished cleaning Odin's bruises, she went to hug Evanee.

A tear slid down Evanee's face, and she looked up at her cousin. "Fakir... what is happening to me?"

Fakir stepped aside after he was done dressing Evanee's hand, and retook his place next to Ahiru. Lytha turned to grab more dressing for Evanee's hand.

"It's okay, Lytha, the bleeding is slowing down," Evanee said.

Fakir put a hand on her shoulder with a very solemn look on his face. "Don't worry, you will get through this."

"Oh, right... thanks, Fakir." Lytha went back to stand beside Evanee.

Marilee made a caw-like noise. "Just... what is actually happening?" she asked.

Sagi looked at Marilee, realizing just how much she had missed in the small amount of time she had been absent. "Umm, let me try to explain really quickly..."

As concisely as she could, Sagi explained to Marliee how an argument between Odin and Evanee had escalated, following the revelation of Lytha's deal with a powerful man named Drosselmeyer, and that something supernatural had caused Evanee to act strangely and for her blood to begin leaking into the journal. "We still don't know exactly what happened, but some injuries occurred, so..." Sagi said, glancing out at the rest.

"So... we just need to stop the paranormal shenanigans?" Marilee asked. "I mean, I’m super useless, but I can try and help!"

Ahiru smiled at Marilee's comment. "Me as well!"

Marilee smiled at Ahiru and tried to give a high five.

"It's easier said than done, though, as we don't know enough about the situation to know exactly what to do about it," Sagi said with concern.

"......." Lytha was silent.

"I would rather explain in private," Fakir said, looking around at the various people around him.

Without thinking, Evanee rushed towards Fakir, wrapping her arms around his torso. "Thank you."

Fakir tensed up.

"Hehe... Evanee, I think Fakir is shy," Lytha remarked.

His face was getting obviously redder. "Okay, that's enough."

"Oh! Right, uh, sorry. I'm just... not used to having family to rely on." She backed away from Fakir, mouthing a 'sorry' at Ahiru as Lytha petted Evanee's shoulder. Ahiru looked back at Evanee in confusion, at which Lytha giggled.

Fakir paused with a melancholy look, reflecting on her comment of "not having family to rely on". Sagi too grew a little distant at the mention of family, her eyes gazing off to the side glumly.

Odin, vaguely sensing the odd silence in some parts of the room, piped in almost assertively, "Family, or best friends, of course!"

Evanee gave Odin a small glare, but lightheartedly.

"I have neither!" Marilee said cheerfully, trying to ease the tension.

Ahiru gaped at the sudden comments. She didn't have family, but it wasn't something pressing to her.

"...Sorry about everything, Evanee; this is all my fault," Lytha said.

"Don't blame yourself..." Evanee said. "In the meantime -- Fakir, you said you can explain it?"

"Yes, but it will need to be in private, because I have a few questions to ask you."

"Wait, please let me join," Lytha said.

Evanee shook her head. "I'll tell you what you need to know, Lytha."

"But... I..." Lytha looked down with mixed feelings.

"Fakir, Ahiru and I are going to step outside for a little; we can talk about it sometime later," Evanee said to the rest.

"M-Me?!" Ahiru fumbled at the mention of her name. "I suppose I do know much of the situation..."

Lytha kept slient.

Sagi nodded, realizing it had something to do with Fakir's Spinning. "But please do tell us if there's anything you discover that can help resolve this, all right?" she asked.

Evanee smiled reassuringly at her friends, and stepped outside.

"Come on, Ahiru," Fakir said, and he and Ahiru followed Evanee outside.

Lytha turned to everyone and apologized. "I'm sorry, everyone; this is all my fault." Lytha gripped the paper contract tightly.

Sagi glanced around, and suddenly realized that Odin was nowhere to be seen in the room, despite having been there shortly before. "Wait, where is...?"

"I'm sorry, everyone, but I have business with someone..." Lytha said. "If Evanee comes back, tell her I went to see 'an old friend'." With that, Lytha left the cafe.

Sagi stood there for a moment, realizing the only ones left in the cafe were now only herself and Marilee.

It was then that Lucy finally came back from the bathroom. "Sorry that I took a bit too long. What did I miss?"

Sagi looked at Lucy, silent for a moment. "Umm.... well, to put it very shortly, something happened with Evanee while you were gone and everyone except Marilee left to go somewhere because of it." She touched her chin. "To go into more detail... I'm not sure where I should start."

Sagi went on to explain to Lucy the events like Lytha's deal that led to Evanee's seemingly possessed air, the struggle over the blood-inked journal, and Fakir and Ahiru being brought over by Lytha, after which everyone except the ones still in the cafe had left for their own reasons.

"So I missed a lot..." Lucy said.

"Everything just happened so quickly..." Sagi said, shaking her head. "This sort of makes the things we had been talking about before seem mundane in comparison."

Lucy nodded. "I just hope Evanee's alright. I'm a bit worried about her."

Sagi clutched her hands together. "Me too. I believe she will be in good hands this evening with Fakir and Ahiru, but as for beyond that... I suppose it depends on what they find out after they finish talking with her."

"I hope so. I certainly don't want anything bad to happen to her, or that she writes down a tragedy which would end badly for everyone."

Sagi frowned with worry. "Even Fakir is so careful with using his powers, and he's in full control of himself... unless we find a way to stave off this strange madness of hers, we may have to have her watched regularly to make sure her situation doesn't worsen."

"Indeed. I feel like Fakir will be able to help her, considering they share the same powers and are somewhat related, I guess," Lucy said.

Sagi glanced toward the cafe's front door, where the others had exited a short time ago. "I suppose all we can do right now is wait, trust our friends, and have hope..."


	11. In Which Fakir, Ahiru, and Evanee Talk About Spinning

When they reached their destination, Fakir rapped at the door of an antique shop. Out came a kindly middle-aged man.

"Charon, is it okay if we stay for a bit? I just learned that she's a cousin..." Fakir said, looking at Evanee.

The old man was taken aback. "Fakir, Ahiru, good to see you," he said. "A cousin? Why, of course. Please make yourselves at home."

"Thank you, Charon."

Ahiru smiled and took her usual seat at the dining table. Evanee smiled, albeit quite awkwardly, and joined them. Fakir whispered to his foster father about her having Spinner powers and that he would be talking to her about it. Charon looked at her briefly and nodded.

"I will get you some tea ready," Charon smiled gently at Evanee.

Evanee put the journal on the table. "I suppose you might need to see this."

Outside the antique shop, a small raven had tailed the group as surreptitiously as he could, alighting in a nearby tree. When he saw them enter the building, though, he bristled. It'd be harder to hear them through a wall...

He flew around and looked for a window, taking a perch at a tree branch sitting closest to it, while still being out of reach. He still couldn't hear them very well, unfortunately, but he could at least see most of what was happening...

Fakir took the journal, tentatively scanning it for any clues. "When did you first write in this? No, rather -- when did you first notice this happening?"

"Many months ago, after the town turned into ravens, I left to find my parents. If all that stuff had happened, then Autor was right about me being a descendant. I searched for a long time, asked so many people. Eventually I found one of their houses, the house they lived in before we came to Kinkan, but... all I could find was the journal.

"I came back three months ago, and used it to write some story ideas. And then after I tried writing myself into the academy and failed, I gave up. One night, I stabbed my finger by accident on my pen, and I just... started bleeding. I blacked out, and the next morning, I awoke at my desk with the journal wide open, this strange writing in blood on the pages."

Evanee flipped to the section she was referring to. Upon the page was a few sentences, reading: _Bird to human with a soul and heart, once before, but never apart, the two come together._

A thought of Odin came to Fakir's mind, but he wasn't sure, so he pushed that thought aside. "Is it only when you have this journal and if you draw blood?"

Odin squinted to try to see what the journal was saying, but there was no way he could see anything but scribbled blood from there, so he settled for continuing to watch the scene from his vantage point.

"She nodded slightly. I get this... strong feeling. I can't stop myself from drawing blood, and I have to write it, especially in the journal," Evanee said. "I tried destroying it, but it kept reappearing on my desk."

"Even after burning it?"

She nodded. "I can write it other places too, but it takes more effort. Once I'm done writing it, the urge goes away."

Fakir nodded. "You," he paused to carefully select his words, "You said you were looking for your parents."

She nodded again. "I don't... I don't remember much about them. I remember them bringing me to Kinkan around the age of five, but there is so much missing that I can't place. I don't know when they disappeared, or even at what point in my life they left. I can remember my mother's face, but my father... he's blank."

"I see," Fakir said. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Charon came in bringing in some tea and snacks for the three of them. He gave a kindly smile and left.

Taking a sip of his tea, Fakir contemplated what he should share.

"And yours...?" Evanee asked.

"You see, the thing about Spinning when the story was still around was that Drosselmeyer still had control over everything," Fakir said. "Did you know why he wrote _The Prince and the Raven_?"

She shook her head. "I know he wrote it, but not why."

Fakir briefly looked back at Ahiru. "He actually had a love for tragedies, and as any author would, he wanted to create the greatest masterpiece of his own liking." Ahiru returned his look, knowing exactly what he was referring to.

"Anyone who tried to Spin, whether for or against him -- all of the stories would end in tragedy," Fakir said. "I was only five when I was able to write my first story. Silly stories about animals and talking household objects.

"However," he took in a sharp breath, "there was a raven attack that suddenly broke out. And as a foolish child I was, I wrote of a knight who would defeat the ravens terrorizing the towns and save the day. Only part of it came true, and they came after the knight, which was me."

Fakir reached out to hold Ahiru's hand for comfort and took a deep breath. "And my parents came in to protect me..."

He went on telling the story of that harrowing day as the evening passed...


	12. In Which Lytha Meets Autor at Drosselmeyer's Grave

Elsewhere in the town, Lytha was walking towards the direction of Drosselmeyer's grave. When she arrived at Drosselmeyer's grave, she stared at it silently. ".........."

"Hey, what do you think you are doing here?" Autor, who had noticed the girl in front of the gravestone, walked up to Lytha. "Huh? You are that girl who's friends with Evanee."

Lytha looked at him. "Autor, it's you," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was asking you the same question. But I'm here for research."

"I'm here for... something else," Lytha replied. "But what do you mean by 'research'? Also, the name's Lytha -- at least remember my name."

"Lytha, right. The one who sits four seats to the left side of the back row in choir practice."

"And you're the one who helped with my performance by playing the piano," Lytha added. "Always the serious guy.

"Yup, can't forget that," Autor said. "Anyways, to answer your question, I was up at the school library to research more on Evanee's parents since they were missing since she was little. Didn't find too much, but they are relatives. I had a hunch that they were probably involved with Drosselmeyer in some way. That's when I made my way here." Autor pushed up his glasses.

Lytha giggled. "And to think you were scolding her when actually you are very kind."

"Bah! She's family. Although we don't get along, we've got to stick together."

"Then tell me why you didn't teach her to control her powers! Because of that, something happened to Evanee!" Lytha exclaimed.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I did try to teach her, but _she's_ the one who won't listen! Her powers are weak, so it was hard to do anything with it..." Autor paused. "Wait, what do you mean, something happened?"

Lytha was silent. "........"

"What happened?"

Lytha explained what had happened at the cafe.

Autor's face froze in complete and utter disbelief. "She... What?!"

"It's all my fault," Lytha said. "This all started because of what I said."

"--No! Let me take this is in for a moment. What the hell? And she goes ahead and starts spinning _with her blood_?" Autor took a deep breath. "Okay... so what is it that started all of this?"

"...My deal with... Drosselmeyer."

Autor started. "What did you just say?!"

"My. Deal. With. Drosselmeyer," Lytha said.

His eyes widened. "You made a deal with Drosselmeyer? ...Is that even possible?"

"...It was possible for me."

His expression made an abrupt turn from shock to excitement. "Wait, how did you do that? Is there some sort of ritual? Were you involved with Spinning too, or was it a case of being involved with a story? Highly likely the latter, but nonetheless--please continue--" Autor's glasses gleamed zealously.

Lytha sighed. "I was only able to communicate with Drosselmeyer because I had once been a pawn in his story."

"Oh! Yes, of course, I see. Ahiru did mention something like that. Did time stop for you as well? Or was it something else that you had noticed going on?" Autor asked, pulling out a pen to take notes.

"Time stopped," Lytha replied.

"Mmm-hmmm, I see," he said, scribbling notes. "Anything peculiar when time stopped? Like certain noises or feelings?"

"Why are you so interested?" Lytha asked.

"Why, not everybody gets to see time stop and talk to one of the most powerful Spinners of all time!"

Lytha sighed and mumbled something about knowing why Autor shouldn't have that power. "Anyways, time stood still and I didn't hear a sound. Here," Lytha handed Autor the paper with the deal on it. "Take a look for yourself."

He eagerly took a look at the written deed but was a bit surprised by what he found. "You had to write this yourself in order to remember?"

"Yes," Lytha replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, that is what you had to exchange for this to work, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"So, why are you here?"

"Huh?" Lytha asked. "I don't understand..."

"I can see why Evanee would be pressed to try to Spin, but you on the other hand -- why would you come to his grave?"

"I... came here in hopes of breaking the deal."

"And how do you plan... to do that?"

"I... I was hoping to 'summon' Drosselmeyer, but he is no longer here," Lytha said. "So I came here to try to do this..."

Autor glanced at the gravestone. "Well, as far as I know, there isn't any particular way to summon Drosselmeyer merely from visiting his grave. Believe me, if there was, I would have tried it already."

After pausing for a moment, Lytha stood in front of Drosselmeyer's grave and held out the paper. Autor crossed his arms and watched in silence.

Lytha took out a lighter and lit the paper on fire. "Drosselmeyer... if you can hear me, know this: I will make sure that nothing happens to anyone I know, even if it costs me my life." Lytha threw the burning paper onto the grave.

"....." Autor may not have understood the entire emotional context behind this, but even he could tell that this was a significant moment for her, a crowning act of defiance. "...Oh. I see, then..." he says, adjusting his glasses.

Lytha turned to Autor. "If you wish to speak to Evanee, she is at Fakir's house right now."

"Are you not going there yourself?"

"....No, I have something I need to do..." Lytha said. "Can you pass on a message?"

Autor sighed. "If I happen to meet whoever you're talking about -- at my earliest convenience. What is it?"

"Tell Evanee this: 'Don't worry, I will make sure nothing else happens to you'."

Lytha walked past Autor and left.

Autor eyed Lytha as she passed by, and after she left, he sighed again, holding his hands up. "I suppose there's nothing for it now. I should to talk to Fakir about this in a timely manner, anyway."

With that, though he was unsure if he'd get there before they were done talking, he headed for Charon's place, where Lytha said Fakir and Evanee had gone.


	13. In Which Lytha Tries to Leave and Drosselmeyer Appears

Evanee bit her lip. Fakir had explained everything — the death of his parents, him being the knight in the story, how he began spinning again to help defeat Drosselmeyer. In return, Evanee explained her self-upbringing in Kinkan, the stories she wrote for fun that didn’t seem to be true, Autor’s approach, and all the writing of the journal, along with the feeling that took over her in that time.

When the three decided there was no more information or explanation they could explore without other means of resource, they spent the rest of their time chatting about more mundane things. The idea of how to help Evanee control or maintain her spinning was mentioned on different occasions, but ultimately it was decided they would have to play it by ear.

Odin, while he had been perched at the window attempting to eavesdrop, didn't do much of eavesdropping as more of idly watching the three talk with serious faces. He found himself getting bored, particularly when their expressions relaxed and seemed to turn to more casual things, but the visit seemed to be over by the time he was ready to leave.

~~~~~~~~~

It was midnight when Lytha finished up her orders and housework. Everyone else in Kinkan was already asleep. "Phew, finally done...."

Lytha went upstairs to her room and wrote a letter. After writing the letter, she went downstairs, donned a cloak, and went out of her house holding a lantern.

Autor was leaning against the wall of her building. "You're out late."

"MEEP!"

"Quiet. You are sneaking out, no?" Autor asked. "According to my calculations, everyone in Kinkan was already asleep as of one hour and 26 minutes ago."

"...Why are you here, Autor -- and awake, may I ask?"

"Well... 93% of them are." Autor cleared his throat. "You are off to do something regarding Drosselmeyer, and I am here to follow you. I wouldn't be very studious or know the things I know if I didn't gather knowledge at every chance possible," he said, glasses gleaming.

Lytha looked at him exasperatedly. "Is researching Drosselmeyer that interesting?"

"He's interesting enough for you to meddle with him," Autor replied.

Lytha said nothing and started walking to the town gate, with Autor following behind her.

~~~~~~~~~

Marilee gripped her bookbag. She was wearing her mask as she landed a few steps near the fountain at the cathedral.

She was at it again; taking what she needed. It wasn't much, though. She usually took some fruit or looked for old things that she could use for herself, mostly for her tiny room she lived in. Though, food was starting to become an issue.

The girl dug through her bag and pulled out an old music box. "Hmm... maybe I can...." she whispered to herself. Marilee started to mess with it before an old melody began to play. Smiling under her mask, the girl was pleased with her success.

Yet... the song reminded her of those times with _him_. She placed it down and listened to it. Her expression was hidden under the mask.

That was when Marilee stood up and took a deep breath. She wasn't a ballet dancer. She wasn't even good at dancing. _She_ would say so. Yet, Marilee couldn't help but start to dance, just like the ballerinas would, even if she wasn't good at it.

On her way back home, Evanee walked past the fountain and sensed movement near the fountain.

"Marilee?" Evanee mused, looking at the girl dancing there so late at night.

Marilee stopped when she heard Evanee. Wait... Evanee knew it was her... with the mask on. She looked over at Evanee for a second, before she slowly reached and grabbed the music box.

She stared at Evanee... before booking it!

"Girl, what in the world are you--?" Evanee picked up her skirt and ran after her. "I know it's you, Marilee! It's your--"

Evanee backspaced in her mind... how _did_ she know it was Marilee, exactly? She replayed the picture of her dancing a few moments ago.

"You--Your hair! Dead giveaway!" This, of course, was a lie, but nonetheless had to help.

Marilee internally cursed her bad luck before stopping and looked at Evanee as she took off the mask. "I thought it wouldn't be obvious, caw..."

Evanee rested her hand on Marilee's shoulder. "Don't worry, it isn't... just don't run away next time, 'kay? These flats you're wearing are not fit for speeding around."

Marilee was quiet for a moment before nodding her head okay.

"What were you doing back there, anyway?"

"Oh... I usually collect some old stuff... that people throw out... and fix 'em up good as new," Marilee replied slowly.

"That's sweet."

Marilee nodded. "Yep! But, um... don't tell anyone. It's a secret!"

"Of course!" Evanee smiled.

~~~~~~~~~

Lytha and Autor finally reached the gate.

"Don't tell me you intend to follow me outside of town?" Lytha asked.

"Why wouldn't I? There is a 64% chance that your deal with Drosselmeyer isn't broken; I'd be a fool not to witness the repercussions," Autor replied. "In addition, if something happens to you, would you rather die alone, or with someone to confess your final wishes?"

Lytha tsked.

"Now, after you," Autor extended his hand out in a polite gesture.

"...Thanks," Lytha said, and then started to walk slowly towards the gate.

Odin had been flying around town after Evanee had left for the evening, and had otherwise been killing time flying around the town, getting more familiar with the buildings. If he could come and go as he pleased, he might as well get to know this place.

Then Odin spotted a pair of people at the town gate, and in fact, walking toward it. One of them was wearing a cloak, seemingly to hide their identity, which was suspicious enough to warrant investigation. So he flew over within earshot of the mysterious cloaked figure. "Hey, human! Why're you sneaking around out here this late at night?"

Lytha jumped in shock and turned around. "Odin...!"

Realizing the voice was familiar, Odin flew closer in and recognized Lytha. "You?! What in the seven hells is going on?" he asked, landing on the ground and switching to human form in a flurry of black feathers.

"Fascinating. A bird that turns into a human. Very common in the narrative, though it often isn't a crow to human..." Autor remarked.

"I could ask you the same question," Lytha replied. "What are you doing up this late, Odin?"

"I was bored and didn't want to go back home yet," Odin said simply. "But I'm not the one wearing a cloak."

"...You should leave, Odin," Lytha said.

Odin crossed his arms. "You tell me why you're here first."

"I'm... trying to leave town... to go somewhere for a while," Lytha replied.

Odin then remembered what Lytha had explained earlier that day. "Leave town? You mean... are you gonna try and see if the curse is lifted?"

Lytha nodded.

Odin tilted his head, raising his eyebrows. "Really? Then I can't possibly leave! Not yet -- not until we see you step through that gate."

Autor cleared his throat, in hopes of getting Odin's attention.

Odin looked at the boy he currently didn't know the name of. "What, human?"

"How do we know you aren't a pawn of Drosselmeyer's? Written up as a scheming raven or crow?" Autor asked.

"AUTOR!" Lytha scolded.

Odin scoffed. "Typical human. Always assuming ravens are out to get you, or are part of some eeeeeevil plot," he says, drawing out the 'e' mockingly.

"To be fair, only a year ago, roughly 1,042 ravens attacked Kinkan," Autor said.

Odin stopped short. "Wait, what?"

"The battle? The Great Climax to Drosselmeyer's greatest tale?" Autor asked.

Odin grimaced, but this time not out of scorn. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I recognize the name Drosselmeyer as the name of some old human who makes cursed contracts with people, like Lytha. Same one, I'm guessing?"

Lytha sighed. "...Autor, calm down -- Odin is a good friend of mine."

"How peculiar..." Autor remarked. "A raven not a part of the Spinner's scheme... or at least, appears not to be..."

Odin pursed his lips. "Well, human, I oughta know who this Drosselmeyer is exactly if I'm to understand whatever it is you're talking about!"

"Well, let's get this over with. I have an appointment tomorrow morning at ten sharp," Autor said.

Odin held up a hand, pointing at Autor briefly. "I'm not done talking to you, human, but I need to make sure Lytha makes it out okay."

He walked up to the gate, which was already cracked open a fair amount, enough to fit at least one person through. He jumped across the threshold, planting his feet firmly on the other side, and folded his arms, waiting.

Lytha hesitated. "...Autor, what if... I can't leave?"

Autor looked at Lytha. "You won't know unless you try."

"If anything happens, that's why I'm here," Odin said confidently, standing tight where he is.

"Autor, if I do leave, I won't be back very soon, so please promise me you won't tell anyone what happened tonight -- especially not Evanee," Lytha said.

Odin paused. "....You _will_ be back at some point, right?"

Autor bit his lip. Could he keep that promise? "Just come back, and I won't tell her."

Lytha hugged Autor and muttered a 'thank you' to him before she turned to the gate. Autor stood there for a moment, stunned by the girl's strange display of affection. "Good luck," he whispered, smiling with slight hope.

Before Lytha could step through the gate, though, she felt something strange. _What is this feeling?_ she thought, starting to shake.

As the trees stopped swaying, the whole world seemed to stand still, and a crackling of gears echoed around the characters.

Autor's glasses did a shimmer-shimmer. "Something is happening..."

Odin blinked, standing just outside the gate and seeing the gears. It was odd, sure, but more odd was that they felt vaguely familiar somehow...

Lytha's eyes widened. "This feeling, it's... no..."

"Ahahaha... I just couldn't help myself," an old man's voice said.

With that, an old man wearing a large red antique coat appeared in front of them, as if from nowhere.

"Drosselmeyer..." Lytha said.

~~~~~~~~~

Marilee began to dig through her bag again to show the music box. "So, I fixed this one."

"Ooh~ that's cute. Is that where the ticking sound is coming from?" Evanee asked Marilee, staring at the box.

“Hm... ticking sound? I don't think it made that noise before...” Marilee placed the music box close to her ear and listened. “I... don't think that ticking is coming from the music box...”

"Now that I think about it... everything else is silent, I could have sworn just a few moments ago the fountain was..." Evanee stopped, bewildered. "Oh my god! WHy is thE FoUnTaIn fRoZeN iN PlAce?!"

Marilee looked at the fountain and let out a surprised noise. "Is... Is there some magic going on?!" the girl asked. She walked over and poked the frozen water, frowning.

"The only thing I could think of that could do this is... him," Evanee said.

Marilee looked at Evanee with worry, before grasping her hands. "Don't worry. I'm bad luck and useless, but we aren't letting anyone mess with you!”

Evanee gushed at her, "Awwwww, Marileeeee, you are so sweet. But you are right about the magic -- looks like Drosselmeyer is here."

Marilee let out a caw-like noise. "What do we do, then?"

"Find him, I suppose; wherever he is, he's up to no good," Evanee said.

Marilee nodded before placing on her mask. She looked 'scary' with it. "Let's go find him, then."

~~~~~~~~~

"Wait, what?!" Odin exclaimed, glancing around. "Is this the doing of that old human everyone's been talking about?!"

Autor gave Odin a grim nod.

"....Why...WHY are you here?!" Lytha exclaimed.

"Guten Abend, my dear children. How have you all been?" Drosselmeyer asked.

Lytha hugged herself, shaking in fear, but she stood her ground. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here. Drosselmeyer?"

"Awww, there's nothing to worry about," Drosselmeyer said. "After all, you have figured out that your contract no longer applies in this universe."

Lytha was silent. "........"

Odin blinked. "...Wait. Did you just come here to tell us that nothing's gonna happen to Lytha?"

An image of Drosselmeyer faded into view between the trees, a thoughtful finger placed on the side of his face. "Oh, perhaps that's what I was trying to do... at first." He looked at Odin. "And surprise, surprise, looks like a fledgling version of my creation has made its way here," the old man remarked.

Odin started. "Huh? What the devil are you talking about...?"

" _I knew it!_ " Autor shrieked at Odin, then stopped himself. "...Sorry, not the time. There was this short story... I knew I recognized you from something..."

"Autor, please, not now," Lytha said.

Odin turned toward Autor. "You recognize me? How? I've never seen you before in my life, I swear."

"I've got to get this down!" Autor reached into his bag and pulled out a pen and journal, ignoring Lytha's comment and scribbling furiously.

"Yes, how come you know him, Autor?" Drosselmeyer asked pointedly.

Autor's pen dropped out of his hand. "You... you know my name," he said in shock.

"Ah yes, that strange obsession of yours. I guess all of this must be fascinating to you."

Autor was silent, staring at Drosselmeyer intently.

"We can have an interview another time, my dear boy," Drosselmeyer added.

"Drosselmeyer, about... the deal," Lytha said with hesitation.

~~Or rather, another one of you already has.~~

"Oh yes, right. The deal." Drosselmeyer sighed. "Ah, it was going to be a sweet tale of sibling love that sacrifices oneself for the family! How delightfully the sorrow touches the heart~"

Odin scowled. "For all the grief it's caused, _you_ sound awfully happy about it, old human."

"Oh my, whatever do you mean?" Drosselmeyer asked.

"Odin, do not provoke him," Lytha warned.

"But that is the way of Drosselmeyer -- to sickly adore tragedy," Autor said.

"AUTOR!" Lytha exclaimed.

The image faded again, reappearing by the town gate tower. "Why, I was going to come by and possibly amend a few things of the deal."

"Whatever he says, Lytha, try not to give in to the temptation," Autor said to her.

"Some of it is still bound to you, but on other parts, I can arrange something..." Drosselmeyer trailed off.

Lytha was silent. "........."

"Ohohoho, Autor. You usually are so enthusiastic when watching me Spin deals," Drosselmeyer remarked, before pausing. "--Oops, wrong one. Forgot it was with someone else."

"I suppose I've had a change of... huh?" Autor said, confused. "What are you referring to, Drosselmeyer?"

"Anywho, onto Lytha's deal..." Drosselmeyer went on, "We can cancel it because I can't control the story of you here now because it might cause some Spinning complications. However--" He sighed with insincere pity. "I can't return your memories."

"Why?!" Lytha exclaimed.

"Well, I can't return something that is lost to the netherlands of the Loophole in Time... And I didn't have any intention of returning them anyways," Drosselmeyer said. "Just be grateful you can leave whenever you like and that I can't touch your family now."

"Don't you dare touch my family!" Lytha shouted.

"Be grateful? You shouldn't have messed with her story in the first place!" Autor exclaimed.

"Oh stop it, I told you that I can't anymore," Drosselmeyer said. "Besides, sometimes that's the path of life, whether I'm in control of it or not." He paused. "Though, I do wonder what happened to the Drosselmeyer of this universe. Strange he hasn't appeared to do any meddling. Unless..."

"A different Drosselmeyer...?" Autor looked up in awe.

Odin was listening hard, his eyes flitting back and forth from the various speakers almost frantically, trying to keep up with what was going on.

~~~~~~~~~

The two rushed down the street towards the cafe, looking around. Marilee tried her best to spot the scary old man there but had no luck yet.

"Maybe he's at the school! That's where Ahiru said he appeared most," Evanee said.

"Ah! Let's go there!" Marilee said.

The girls rushed to the lake as Marilee tried to look around.

"Hey... I saw something move all the way over there!" Evanee motioned towards the town wall at one of the entrances to Kinkan, which was hundreds of feet away and hard to see through the fog.

Marilee nodded as she followed Evanee. She held onto Evanee’s hand, as she hoped her mask would be intimidating.

~~~~~~~~~

"....Unless what?" Lytha asked.

"No idea," Drosselmeyer shrugged. "Well, perhaps you guys are fairly lucky until this universe's Spinner decides to flex their powers."

"This universe's Spinner? But you just said our Drosselmeyer failed or something," Autor said.

Drosselmeyer shook his head. "I didn't say anything of the sort, Autor."

"Did Fakir flex his power?!" Lytha asked.

"No, I don't think Fakir is the Spinner either."

"Is it... me?" Autor asked in a whisper.

"Nope, I'm sorry, my boy. It's not you," Drosselmeyer replied dryly.

Autor sulked a little.

"You don't mean... Evanee, do you?" Lytha asked.

"Hmmm, I can't say if it is this Evanee person you talk about. Though I believe it's actually at least five other Spinners involved in this universe," Drosselmeyer said, winking at the fourth wall.

Autor counted on his fingers, wondering how there were five when he only knew of three.

Lytha was silent for a moment. "...So Drosselmeyer, what do you know about blood going into journals and writing a story with blood?"

"Ewww, I did that as a last resort," Drosselmeyer said. "Sounds like something my brother had done."

"A... A brother?" Autor asked. "My records only go as far back as Drosselmeyer -- with all his descendants listed, I didn't really pay attention to his immediate relatives..."

"Well, technically half brother; he was the doctor while I was the eccentric toymaker, but he took up Spinning on the side. You know, like in the story _The Nutcracker_. Gave me a nice position as a judge later on, those sleazy pipe bags."

Lytha and Autor stopped for some moments. "...That makes some sense," Lytha admitted.

"So there are more... Spinners I don't know about," Autor said.

"Ah, correction, **were** more Spinners," Drosselmeyer said.

"What happened to them?" Lytha asked. Autor had begun furiously scribbling down notes again.

"The Bookmen took care of them -- just like they did with me."

Lytha looked at Autor to see him writing things down like a madman.

"Ah, Marie was such a rebellious child. Didn't know she was such a spy, acting as the nurse to collect information on us. Let her live since she grew up to be such an amazing lady."

"Marie... Marie, a girl named Marie," Autor muttered to himself.

"Who is this 'Marie' you speak of?" Lytha asked.

"Yes, who? I need it for my research," Autor asked.

"Oh? Don't you know Autor?" Drosselmeyer asked. "Marie Stahlbaum, the originator of the Bookmen, and who led to my downfall. She had a meticulous way of numbers. Oh, and was your ancestor. Technically, my niece."

Lytha was speechless. Autor's jaw dropped.

"How long ago was it?" Drosselmeyer mused.

"M-Marie was the original Bookman? I thought they were a man!" Autor exclaimed.

"Same here," Lytha added.

"And she's related to..."

Drosselmeyer raised an eyebrow. "Not all humans are men, FYI."

Lytha laughed at that comment.

"Ah, the good old days. It was quite fun actually."

"So your niece betrayed you... how ironic," Lytha remarked.

"Yes, it was ironic, but made for an excellent story."

"But if she was your niece, did she carry Spinner powers?" Autor asked.

"Ah, nope. She didn't have an ounce of Spinner powers. Or else, she would have killed herself... Though that would have been so dramatic! Too bad her brother couldn't make it. Definitely what fueled her revenge," Drosselmeyer remarked.

"...So she betrayed you for her father, who is your half brother?" Lytha asked.

"Ah no, you got it all wrong."

Odin pursed his lips again. If they were so interested in this old man's family, he supposed that the immediate danger had passed.... though he wanted to find an opportunity whenever he could to discover why this bespectacled human, and old human enchanter, knew him somehow.

"My brother is possibly Evanee's ancestor, while Marie is from my grandma's side of the family, a line of prestigious doctors," Drosselmeyer explained. "So the daughter of my cousin. Get it now?"

"Somewhat..."

"Wait... dramatic. Drosselmeyer, I have a question," Autor said. "Is it Lilie... is Lilie the Spinner?"

Drosselmeyer looked at him with bewilderment. "Who is that?"

"A girl at the academy, one of the most annoying, nonetheless, but often obsessed with how dramatic things are."

"What do you mean, Autor? Have you gone nuts?" Lytha asked him.

"Huh? Oh! I put her in there as the torturing stepsister figure for Ahiru," Drosselmeyer replied.

"Lytha?" Evanee yelled out, squeezing Marilee's hand tighter as they approached the group of people.

Lytha turned around and saw Evanee and Marilee running towards her. She covered her face with the cloak.

"Ah, hello, great-grandniece," Drosselmeyer said.

"Aah! It's you!" Evanee exclaimed.

Lytha stood in front of Evanee.

"We were just having a conversation about our family tree. You should hear about the time Marie tried to sneak into my writing room."

"Oh thank goodness, she would have been the worst Spinner ever," Autor remarked.

Marilee stepped forward to make sure Drosselmeyer didn't get near her friends. She even gripped a stick just in case.

"Eh, possibly. Her style of speech is hard to read, although I like her enthusiasm for drama."

"Who the hell--? You son of a b----! No one wants to hear about your soap opera stories!"

"Evanee, calm down," Lytha said.

"Oh, but it's one of Autor's ancestor's glorious moments!" Drosselmeyer said. "I laughed when she got out and stole my drafts."

"I... I am the descendant of the original Bookman?" Autor paused in awe, this time actually believing it.

Odin glanced around incredulously. "Okaaaay.... if I didn't know any better, I'd think you humans all had arranged a family reunion right here."

Evanee turned to Lytha. "Oh honey, no no, I'm not calming down. First off, don't think I'm not having a conversation with you about leaving the town--" Then she cut to Odin in the middle of her sentence. "--and Odin! Stop snooping in my business! No crow or raven or whatever sits outside a window for three hours!"

Odin narrowed his eyes sarcastically at Evanee. "Well, if you're going to be so _secretive_ about it all, then I have to spy on you if I'm gonna learn anything about it!"

"Odin, stand behind me... quick," Lytha said.

Odin stepped toward Lytha, but didn't get behind her. "What is it, Lytha?"

"Ah, before she does anything stupid and makes me revoke the deal--" Drosselmeyer snapped his fingers.

"Wha?" Lytha said.

Evanee motioned a defensive _'Square up mother-cawer!'_ at Drosselmeyer.

The paper deed appeared in Drosselmeyer's hands, and it disappeared into ash as a glow surrounded Lytha.

"What?!" Lytha exclaimed as she began to glow. Evanee backed away from her friend.

"Lytha?!" Autor shouted.

"The deal is gone, and the magical light is proof. But no memories tho -- that would have been painful to regain, and also impossible, since they are gone forever."

Marilee looked at Lytha with alarm before she looked at Drosselmeyer. The girl suddenly stomped over, letting out a threatening noise. "Leave my friends alone, you lying-inbetween-the-lines jerk!"

"I have no idea what's happening, but I'm with you, Marilee!" Evanee said.

Odin's eyes widened in alarm when Lytha started glowing. Without another word, he grabbed Lytha's wrist, as if he were afraid she might disappear somewhere without him.

"My, didn't know you had such a heart, Odin," Drosselmeyer remarked.

Odin scowled at the old man. "Uh, ravens have hearts just like humans do. Duh!"

"Is that so? I forgot you had more spunk in your past life."

"Odin, stop, I'm fine," Lytha said.

Marilee was suddenly in front of Drosselmeyer, letting out a warning shrill noise to back away. She really hoped the mask was scary!

"Marilee!" Lytha exclaimed.

"D'awww, baby crow," Drosselmeyer said, smirking at the girl.

"Anyways, Drosselmeyer, you have done what you needed to do and said everything you wanted to -- now leave!" Lytha said.

"Awww, don't you want to hear the backstory of how Marie's brother got to be one of Siegfried's knights?" Drosselmeyer asked.

Lytha looked at him with bewilderment.

"Where do these stories keep coming from?" Evanee asked.

"Well, it all started long ago at a Christmas party you see," Drosselmeyer began.

"I mean, I'm intrigued, but like... you big bad and I don't like you, so I want you to choo," Evanee said.

Marilee let our another shrill noise at Drosselmeyer, about to whack him with the stick. Odin's mouth opens for a second as he sees Marilee going up on him, but closes it right away and makes no other outward sign that he sees her.

"My cousin held the dinner, and Marie and Fritz were the cutest things," Drosselmeyer said. "Maybe smaller than Marilee here. They actually helped me come up with some of the plots. The frivolous ones, anyways. Great sounding board for ideas."

"I'm not small! Wait... HOW!?" Marilee let out another shrill angry bird noise.

"Wait, everyone!" Lytha said.

"Lytha, are you that intrigued by his stories?" Autor asked.

"NO!" she yelled.

Drosselmeyer on the other hand was oblivious to all the other chatter, and continued to talk about the old days.

"DROSSELMEYER!" Lytha shouted. "LEAVE. NOW!"

"Then I wrote a story for him--" Drosselmeyer stopped. "Oh..."

~~How rude. Don't interrupt your elders.~~

Evanee plucked her skin with a pen. A shrill laughter came out of her mouth.

“Don’t be revealing people's secret identities, then! Wait... Evanee?” Marilee asked.

"Evanee!" Lytha cried.

~~Did you want to provoke me?~~

Evanee held up her hand to stop Lytha.

~~Is that what you really wanted?~~

"No, no, not at all... brother," Evanee said.

~~If you wanted me to skip to the ending, you'll need to wait for the build up.~~

"Ev? What?" Marilee was confused, as she had no idea what was happening. She rushed over to Evanee. "Evanee? Ev?"

"Evanee..." Lytha said as she grabbed Evanee's shoulder. Odin, still holding onto Lytha's wrist, got tugged along before he could respond.

~~Oh, hello there Ernst. So I see you are in that sorry state.~~

"Leave them alone," Evanee(?) said.

~~...Fine.~~

The ominous darkness faded from the air.

"... For old time's sake."

"We will meet again; her writing says so."

"Of course, we don't need her writing to know that," Drosselmeyer said.

Evanee(?) gestured towards the journal. "But we need it to prevent what is to come. Goodbye, Brother."

"Auf Wiedersehen." Drosselmeyer looked at Evanee. "And you don't really need that, you know."

Evanee looked at him with confusion.

With that, the breeze flowed through the trees once again, and the trickling of water had resumed.

"He is gone," Lytha said.

"Yes, it appears so," Autor said.

"...." Seeing that Lytha seemed to be okay for the moment, Odin silently but gently let go of her wrist.

Lytha started swaying, and fainted after everything that happened. Immediately Odin regretted letting her go and grabbed her arm with alarm. Autor grabbed her other arm, setting her down slowly.

"It isn't just shock that caused her fainting spell; it's the result of the deal too. She should be better soon," Evanee said.

After ensuring Lytha was safely on the ground, Odin stood up pensively. "...Well, we know now that she can leave the town if she wants," he said, though his voice betrayed his worry.

"We also know Drosselmeyer isn't our biggest worry," Autor noted to himself.

Lytha was muttering 'sorry' as tears escaped the corners of her eyes. She opened her eyes and grabbed Evanee's hands. "Evanee... I'm sorry." Lytha fainted again, but didn't let go of Evanee's hands.

Evanee stared at Lytha with blank eyes. "So concerned about her family..."

Odin stared at Lytha with a serious face. "....Does anyone know where Lytha lives? Or a bed she can sleep on?" he asked no one in particular, unsure of who would know.

Suddenly Lytha's twin siblings tackled Evanee from behind.

"I do, I saw her sneak out tonight--AH--children!" Autor exclaimed.

"Get off of my back, please," Evanee grumbled.

"No," the twins replied.

Odin looked at the twins in disbelief. "Did you two... follow everyone here?"

"...Maybe," the two of them said.

"Of course they did, and if they don't get off my back, they won't be following anyone," Evanee muttered.

Odin glared at Evanee, beginning to recognize that look again and about to retort, but paused when the twins began speaking.

The twins looked at Evanee. "Sister said if you bleed, we help you until you better."

"Did she? Well, quite frankly, I'm fine."

The twins patted Evanee's head.

"Now that **he's** gone, I suppose I can relax," Evanee said. "It was mostly an act, anyway."

"Mostly?" Autor mused, surprised by his cousin's... er, distant relative's, behavior.

"Get her home safely, you two, I need to think some things over," Evanee motioned to Autor and Odin, turning her back and motioning for Marilee to follow.

Odin looked doubtful, but sensing the danger passing, he said to the twins, "You should take your sister back -- she needs to rest."

The twins picked Lytha up and carried her back to their house.

"I suppose I need to leave too. I'll tell you everything you want to know tomorrow," Autor said to Odin.

Deciding to trust that the twins could keep their sister safe for the time being, Odin let them take her away and paused a moment. "...Yeah, I definitely want answers," Odin replied.


	14. In Which Sagi and Lucy Notice Time Stopping

During this time, Sagi was awoken by the alarmingly familiar sound of gears. It took her a moment to process what was happening, but once she recognized the clanks, she took one look outside at the fountain and confirmed her suspicions.

She left her room and went downstairs and out onto the dormitory courtyard to investigate. However, beyond the clanking and the frozen fountain, she saw nothing else of note. "Strange... what could be happening?"

Lucy was still awake, because of her not being able to sleep. However, just as Sagi did, she notices the sound of gears. "What in the world is going on...? Maybe it is coming from outside." She looked out the window and saw the fountain, but couldn't really recognize that it was frozen. "Nothing is going on outside...so from where are these sounds coming?"

And so, Lucy left her room too, slowly making her way downstairs and outside...

Sagi glanced over the fountain she was well familiar with, having sat here on numerous occasions listening to its gentle flowing sounds. For sure she knew it was frozen in time -- she should have heard it from this close up. But then, why...? Sagi then heard footsteps emerging from the girls' dorm and saw Lucy. "Oh, Miss Lucy, you're awake, too..."

Lucy noticed Sagi. "Oh, hey, Sagi. I am still awake, if anything...I just can't sleep."

Sagi tilted her head with concern. "Was it from this sound, or something unrelated?"

"Something unrelated. I was just thinking a lot and that kept me from sleeping, that's all."

Sagi grasped her hands in front of her. "Is something in particular troubling you? Was it what happened at the cafe?"

"It is all okay, Sagi. There is no need to worry. Either way..." Lucy looked at the fountain. "From where did these sounds come from? You heard it too, right?"

Sagi nodded. "Yes, and I still hear them somewhat. It had woken me up. Plus, I've heard this sound before..."

"Where did you hear it before?" Lucy asked.

Sagi frowned. "Only once before, but that time, when I had heard it... I was transported to another realm my friends called 'the Loophole in Time'."

"The loophole in time, huh? What happened while you were there?"

At this Sagi fell silent for a few moments, the events of that fateful day replaying in her mind within an instant. "...Well, I was taken to a dimension where everything I saw was clockwork, and all of the clockwork was connected to everyone around the town, and even beyond that," Sagi explained. "The landscape stretched as far as I could see of nothing but clanking gears of a great machine. That's what the clanks we heard are from."

"An entire clockwork world...might that be the doings of that Drosselmeyer?"

Sagi nodded. "It had been his realm to command for far longer than I've been in this town. Last I knew, though, he was permanently brought here to this world, unable to return there. That we haven't seen him lurking around lately is..." She trailed off.

"Maybe he is trying to find a way to return there, or assume control over this town..." Lucy mused.

Sagi's brows creased. "I dread the possibility, but we can't eliminate that scenario. Ironically, until we see or hear of him or his doings again, we won't know for sure what's going on."

"Whatever he plans, I hope he is not back to his old tricks," Lucy said. "What I've heard about him sounded bad, and I do not want to let this town become another story ending in tragedy."

"Yes, I agree," Sagi nodded soberly. "I would almost have a mind to investigate the town right now to find out more, but I would have no idea where to start." She looked pensive. "Perhaps we should ask our friends next time we see them if anything has happened this night on their ends... assuming that this state is only fleeting and won't remain for long."


	15. In Which Lytha Prepares to Leave Town

The next day, Marilee was humming to herself as the ravenette stopped and noticed the academy. She stared at it for the longest time. The twins, walking by, stopped in front of Marilee, staring at her.

Marilee snapped out of it when she noticed the twins staring at her. “Oh, uh... hi?"

"I'm Lisanna," Lisa said.

"I'm Liam," Liam said.

"We are the younger siblings of sister Lytha," the two said at once.

"Oh! I think we've met. I’m Marilee. Nice to meet you."

"You look like a crow," the twins said.

Marilee nearly let out a crow-like noise from that statement. "Y-yeah. I get that a lot..."

The twins stared at Marilee again before asking, "Where is the cafe again?"

"The cafe? Oh. It should be past the water fountain, last I remembered," she replied.

"Thanks, lady!" Liam turned to his sister. "Come on, Lisa, we need to get food for Sister."

"Let's go, Liam," Lisa replied.

With that, the twins went off to the cafe.

Marilee looked at the academy before taking a deep breath... and started to head in.

Upon entering, a fox dressed in a blazer and pencil skirt was sitting at the front desk, looking over papers through her spectacles.

Marilee tensed upon seeing the fox, before taking a deep breath and going over. The small girl had to have courage. "Um, excuse me, miss? Is this where I can enroll?"

"Full name, and the division you wish to join," she replied.

Marilee nearly froze. She hadn't used her last name for so long. "I-It's Marilee Byrne.... a-and I wish to... join the art division."

"Alrighty. Fill out this form, get it signed by your parents and come back with the tuition fee. The next audition is in nine days." The fox slid the papers towards Marilee and wrote her name down in a book.

Marilee nodded as she smiled. “Thank you, Miss!” the ravenette chirped before getting the papers, and then headed out of the academy.

She held the papers close to her. Forging her father’s and step-mother’s signature would be easy... the tuition, she needed to get. She could go without eating for a few days...

~~~~~~~~~

Lytha was seated by the fountain, thinking about what she was going to do next. She kept wondering if she was doing the right thing.

Lytha looked up to see Marilee exiting the academy, and walked up to her. "Hi there, Marilee."

Marilee stopped and smiled at Lytha. "Hi, Lytha!"

Lytha noticed the enrollment form. "Decided to enter the academy?"

The young ravenette nodded her head as she smiled. "Yep!"

Then Lytha remembered something, and she reached into her bag and took out an envelope, handing it to Marilee. "Here, take this."

The girl blinked twice and gently took the envelope. "Thanks!"

"...Farewell, Marilee, I hope you have fun at the academy," Lytha smiled sadly.

Marilee looked confused for a second. What did she mean by farewell? "Um, okay... are you going somewhere?" Marilee asked.

Lytha smiled sadly, tears starting to fall from her face. "I'm... going away... far away." She wiped away her tears. "Well, goodbye then, Marilee..." With that, Lytha left.

~~~~~~~~~

Soon after, Lytha was standing outside Charon's house, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to knock on the door right away.

After some moments, Lytha finally knocked on Charon's door. "Charon? Are you in?"

A voice from the other side called in response and opened the door. "Oh, Lytha. How have you been? Is your father doing well? My shoes are holding up ever since the last time that he mended it." He chuckled a bit. "Well, what brings you here?" he asked gently.

"I need advice..." Lytha looked around. "Fakir is not here, right?"

"Ah, how rude of me. Don't stand in the doorway, please come in." He ushered Lytha to the dining room and started to bring out a few snacks. "No, Fakir isn't in right now. It's still schooltime you know, so he would be staying at the dorms."

He heated up a kettle and brings out some tea. "So, what advice do you need, Lytha?"

"Well, you see...how do I start," Lytha said.

"Is it about your father? Or is it the curse?"

"...The curse," Lytha replied.

"Hmm, I see." He set down the teacups in front of Lytha and himself, and sat down to listen better. "Did something happen?"

"...Drosselmeyer removed my curse, but I will never regain my memories."

Charon was a bit shocked to hear the news. "Drosselmeyer actually removed the curse?"

Lytha nodded.

"But, in exchange, you won't regain your memories... I'm sorry to hear that," Charon said. "Knowing the fiend, it could have been so much worse. And you are still young -- you can create new and even better memories with your family, and go out into the world without worrying about the strings holding you back. You are free now; what is there to worry about?"

"Well, Evanee, for one."

"Evanee? Oh, the girl who talked with Fakir earlier this week." Charon shook his head, but more fondly instead of with disappointment. "You are too kind, Lytha. You should have asked about that first instead."

"What do you mean?"

"I know why Evanee had to talk with Fakir -- she's a cousin, was it? So she has some kind of Spinner power like him. Seems kind of nasty side effect is taking hold, though. And she mentioned you a few times in the conversations, so I assumed you two are friends."

"Best friends, actually," Lytha smiled.

"Oh, how lucky you two are," he grinned. "But are you concerned about Evanee's predicament, when now your curse is removed and you are free to go? Or is it something else?"

"Something else," Lytha said. "It's about... my mother."

Charon nodded, urging her to continue.

"Charon, do you remember anything about my mother?"

"Well, your father loved her very much and she was a very kind lady. But you already know all that..."

He contemplated for a while, as if discerning if he should give away important information. "I had promised not to tell you to your father, but your mother was having difficult relations with her family," he said. "It almost escalated right before her passing."

"...What happened?"

"Her family was against her marriage with your father."

"Is it because Dad was not a noble?"

"As outrageously outdated as that thought is, yes."

"That's a stupid reason," Lytha said.

"I know, dear, we all argued against it." He let out a long sigh. "When she passed, we were all sure that her family was involved in the death somehow, but couldn't find any evidence."

"What made you think that the family was part of her death?" Lytha asked. "Didn't she pass away because of a sickness?"

"Well, that was the doctor had said it was. But the timing was all too suspicious, considering she was perfectly healthy the week before. The funeral was covered by her family, and even that was rushed. Your father, he wasn't allowed much time to mourn over the body." Charon looked serious. "But it's been argued that the motive doesn't make sense, either. Why would they kill their own daughter because she had turned down their marriage arrangements?"

Lytha said nothing for a moment, and stood up. "I better go now..."

"Lytha?"

"Thanks for everything, Charon," Lytha said, turning around and leaving the house.

He seemed surprised at her sudden decision to leave. "I fear the girl might do something reckless. I hope she will be alright..."


	16. In Which Autor Talks With Odin and Evanee Frets about Lytha

The twins popped in their heads into the cafe in hopes of finding Odin or Evanee.

"Kids?" Evanee asked as she was wiping the windows.

"Sister Evanee!" The twins hugged Evanee.

“Hi guys! What’s up?”

"We came here to buy food for Sis," Lisa replied. Liam just nodded his head

"Oh..." Her face drooped. “Is she... doing okay?”

The twins looked at each other and shrugged. "Daddy says Sister is okay."

Evanee stayed quiet for a moment. And after a long sigh, she asked, "What can I get her?"

"Cinnamon coffee and cheesecake!" the two said.

"On it~" Evanee went into the back, closing and locking the door behind her. As much as she tried, she couldn’t stop the feelings in her heart from bursting out. She stifled her sobs with her hand, sitting on the floor and leaning against the door as the tears came down.

At that moment, Odin walked into the cafe, more serious and quiet than he usually was. He glanced around and took a seat in the back corner of the cafe, where people would be less likely to listen in on them. He sighed. "He'd _better_ come."

The twins spotted Odin and walked up to him. "Brother Odin!"

Odin glanced up. "Hmm? Oh, you two. How's Lytha doing?"

The twins shrugged again. "Daddy said Sister is fine."

Odin pursed his lips dubiously, but shrugged back. "Guess I'll just take his word for it for now. Are you getting food for her or something?" The twins nodded their heads.

Evanee wiped her tears and composed her face as she stepped out with the cheesecake. She handed the coffee to Liam and the cake to Lisa.

"This one is on the house," Evanee said with a smile, being sure to not let them see a hint of sadness on her face by closing her eyes and lifting her chin up higher.

The door opened again for someone to enter and pat Evanee on the head. "Hey, why are you crying?"

"Sister!" The twins hugged Lytha while Evanee detatched herself from Lytha’s hand.

Odin glanced at Lytha with mild surprise when she entered. "Oh, so you _are_ okay. Well, that settles that, then."

"...Hey, Evanee, are you mad?" Lytha asked. "Well, not that I can blame you after what I did."

"I'm not... I'm not mad at you," Evanee replied.

"Then what are you angry about?" Lytha sighed. "I won't force you but know this: it's not your fault, it was mine."

Lytha picked up the order and told the twins to go home, before turning around and sitting with Odin. "I'm fine, Odin, I'm not that weak."

Odin crossed his arms. "There's a lot of reasons for humans to lose consciousness, and a lot of them aren't good. You can't fault me for thinking that you might be ill or somesuch."

Lytha stared at her cup. "You are right..."

Odin sighed. "You can stay for now, but I'm meeting with that human named Autor at some point -- whenever he decides to show up -- and I don't know if he'd want any listeners. So be prepared to move if he'd rather talk alone."

After looking at the time, Evanee took off her apron and gathered her things to leave.

"...Odin, Evanee, I have something I want to talk about..."

Just as Evanee reached the door, she heard Lytha say her name. She turned around.

Odin tilted his head at Evanee. "Where are you going? Isn't the cafe still open?"

"My shift is over. But Lytha can say what she needs to say before I go."

Lytha went slient, shaking a bit, not sure how to explain. "I-I... well," she began. "I'm... leaving town for a while... to... to..." She swallowed. "To... search for my mom."

Evanee closed her eyes and nodded. "Understood." She then headed back toward the door.

"Evanee... I'm sorry."

"I don’t know why you are apologizing," Evanee said.

"...For everything," Lytha stood up and handed Evanee an envelope. "Take this as an apology."

Evanee looked down at the envelope. She didn’t know what was in it, but she didn’t want it.

Lytha turned to Odin and gave him a hug (much to his startlement) and muttered a thank you and goodbye. As Lytha hugged Odin, Evanee rushed out, leaving the envelope on the front counter.

Lytha saw Evanee leave the envelope on the counter from the corner of her eye, but said nothing, and left the cafe with tears running down her face.

Odin frowned at the scene, but thinking that it wasn't really his business in the first place, he glanced down at the envelope lying on the table, grabbed it, and opened it. Inside was a letter, as well as some human currency. Glad that he had taught himself to read early on in life by sneaking into human libraries, he read the letter to himself.

_Dear Evanee,_

_The trip I'm about to embark is a dangerous one, which I'm not sure I will come back from... alive. I'm not sure what happened after Drosselmeyer left, but please don't ever blame yourself -- it was never your fault, and it will never be your fault._

_Anyways, I left you money in hopes it might help you achieve your dreams of going to school? Please forgive me and forget me._

_Love ever yours,_

_Lytha_

_P.S. I'm leaving today, but don't come and see me off, it will be too painful._

_P.P.S. also stop working so hard, you dimwit_

Odin pursed his lips. He knew she had wanted to be able to leave the town, but he hadn't thought it would be so dangerous once she was _outside_ it. It wasn't up to him where she went, but he had to wonder what she could be doing that she was so uncertain about her return. Wasn't much he could do about it at this point, though.

He sighed. Putting the letter aside, he carefully rolled up the bills into a compact roll and slid the currency notes into his sleeve. Not that he had much use for it himself, but he wasn't about to leave it for some other human to snatch. He could attempt to give it to that Evanee later, if she'd take them. Whenever he saw her next, of course. At his convenience.

As for the letter itself, he figured no one would have any reason to steal it, so he folded it back into the envelope, and after a quick scan around the cafe, walked over to the hostess stand and placed the envelope in a conspicuous place on top of the desk

With that done, he finally was able to sit back down at his seat, where he was growing impatient about Autor's appearance at this meeting place.

Autor walked into the cafe with a matter-of-fact air. Oddly he wasn't entirely sure how to approach this situation. The boy was almost certain to be from the short story Drosselmeyer had written, and perhaps even...

He shook his head. He wouldn't know anything until he actually talked with the child. He wasn't any good with children, but... this wasn't an ordinary child.

He saw Odin sitting in the back corner. Taking a slight breath, he walked that direction. "I'm here."

" _Finally!_ " Odin exclaimed with a heavy sigh. "I almost thought you weren't going to show up."

"I... had some prior engagements," Autor said evenly. "Either way, I'm here now." He took a seat directly across from the raven child and exhaled. "Well, where do I start..."

Fakir walked into the cafe, and to his surprise saw Autor sitting with a little boy. He walked over to them. "Autor, it's rare to see you talking to a kid."

Autor looked back at the newcomer. "Oh, Fakir, it's you. What are you doing here? Are you looking for Evanee after what happened last night? Unfortunately, no one else is here except for this one across the table," Autor said, jerking his head toward Odin.

Odin glanced at Fakir, folding his arms. "You need something, human?"

Fakir glared at Odin, but said nothing and sat beside Autor. "Last night? What happened last night?"

Autor had to hold back his dual apprehension and excitement. "To put it shortly, we briefly met Drosselmeyer last night," he said.

Fakir stood abruptly, slamming the table. "What?!"

"Calm down, Fakir!" Autor exclaimed. "He didn't do anything to us. Well, except Lytha, and he actually did something good for her. Mostly."

"Explain everything in detail," Fakir said.

Autor cleared his throat, and began to explain. He talked about how he ran into Lytha the previous night, accompanied her to the town gate, and Odin showing up shortly before Drosselmeyer appeared. He went on to talk about how Drosselmeyer undid Lytha's curse partially, allowing her to leave the town but still missing her memories, and then Evanee and Marilee showing up, as well as the brief interactions they all had with him.

He ended with talking of how Lytha had fainted, and her siblings had carried her back home. "It was late, but Odin here had a lot of questions, and I did want to discuss them with him. So I said we'd meet at this location we both knew about, and...." He glanced at the boy. "...that takes us to the present."

Fakir went silent. "So Drosselmeyer appeared just to free Lytha from her curse... and that's it? How is she now?"

Autor shook his head with a shrug. "Haven't seen her since last night. Though I came across her siblings, who told me she was 'fine', and didn't seem troubled about the matter; so I took their word for it."

Fakir stared at Odin with a serious face. "...Have we met before?"

Odin tilted his head. "I'm assuming you mean besides last night? No, I don't remember meeting a human looking like you. Certainly not in this town before."

"So what was it that you wanted to ask Autor here?" he asked.

Odin opened his mouth to reply, but paused a moment when Evanee suddenly stormed into the cafe, throwing her apron on the counter and storming into the back to get her things she had left behind in her haste.

It briefly occurred to Odin that he could give her Lytha's bequeathment at some point, but he wasn't about to put himself in firing range if she was on the rampage.

So he turned to Fakir and answered, "Well, both he and that old human Drosselmeyer said that they knew me, had seen me before. But I've never seen either of them in my life! So I had to know why, and what in the seven hells they were talking about."

"SH*T!" she yelled in the back.

Fakir turned to the direction of the voice. "Was that Evanee?"

She stormed back out and slammed the door, banging her head on the counter.

Fakir turned to Autor, frowning. "Is something wrong with her?"

Autor grimaced. "I don't know. Miss Evanee was there last night when Drosselmeyer had shown up, and she became strange again, but only briefly. She hadn't been there for long before he disappeared on us."

Evanee raised her head. "Uuuuuuhm, sorry, I didn't--I didn't know you were here?"

Fakir motioned for Evanee to sit with them, studying her carefully.

Deciding he might as well get it out of the way, Odin pointed at the hostess stand. "I left the letter Lytha gave you on that desk there. She also left some human currency in there, but I'm not leaving that out unattended."

Evanee had just sat down when Odin mentioned the letter, which caused her to tear up. "Uh, thank you, Odin."

Odin reached inside his sleeve and shoved the wad of bills across to her. "This is what she left you in with it. I've got no use for it, so you'd better have it."

"That's a lot of money," Fakir said, his eyes widening.

"Is it?" Odin glanced at the wad of bills curiously as Evanee tentatively took the money. "It sure doesn't look extravagant to me, but I wouldn't know."

Fakir looked at Evanee and handed her a handkerchief. "What's that letter all about?"

"I don't... I don't know." She put the money down and grabbed the handkerchief, thanking Fakir.

Autor cleared his throat. "Well, we might as well not waste any more time. Odin, right? Shall we start with why I recognize you?"

Evanee nodded. "Please, do continue, don't mind me."

Odin tossed his head at Evanee and Fakir. "It's all right if they're here to listen?"

"Oh... I can leave too, that's fine, I can just--" Evanee motioned towards the door.

"No reason not to," Autor replied. "It's no secret. Just... a little disconcerting, perhaps."

Evanee nodded at his response, and gave the handkerchief back to Fakir with a smile.

Odin furrowed a brow. "Disconcerting?"

Fakir took the handkerchief back from Evanee, and then looked at Odin.

Autor leaned on the table. "You've heard everyone talking about stories and such, right? This will require more explanation, but basically, you're from one of Drosselmeyer's stories. An obscure short story, to be sure, but unmistakably one of his. That would be the reason he recognizes you. He wrote about you, and in some way, you came out of the story. You're not the only one to have done this, so don't think it's something entirely unprecedented."

Odin blinked. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but even though it made sense with everything he had seen, it took him a moment to take it in. "So I came from one of that Drosselmeyer's stories? And you're saying others have come from them to this world, too?"

"Yes," Autor said matter-of-factly, pushing up his glasses. "One of our friends is such a person. And it seems you can enter and leave at will for some reason, so you're in a better position than he was for a while." He paused. "But just to check something... Odin, have you ever met a soldier who was about to kill himself, and then..." Autor hesitated. "...he asked you to take out his heart?"

Odin's mouth dropped open. "How... how do you...?"

Autor closed his eyes. "As I suspected." He folded his hands, looking at Odin calmly. "The short story as it was written says that a raven boy took out his heart, and consequently follows the soldier to his tragic demise. What happened after that, from your perspective?"

Odin found himself struggling to form an answer, even as he was trying to stay calm. "Well... I mean, the heart... I still had it. And I've just kept it... hid it where no one could find it. But the heart wouldn't stay hidden; crimson ghosts haunt the woods where I buried it." The boy grew anxious. "And I'm still worried that the roost is gonna find it soon..."

Autor recalled what Fakir had once told him about what the Oak Tree had shown him -- visions of the past that described the very story he was talking about now. And the one whose past it had been showing was...

"...Be very careful what you do with that heart," Autor says with utter seriousness.

" 'Be careful'? I don't know how to be any more careful than I am now!" Odin exclaimed, his unease getting the better of him. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do with that heart..." He looked lost and torn. "What do I do with a heart that isn't wanted anymore?"

"Oh! Wait, I've heard this short story before, you gave it to me when you thought I was Drosselmeyer's descendant, Autor," Evanee said.

Autor cocked an eyebrow at Evanee. "Yes, I did. What of it?"

"It's just that... one of my journal prophecies, it mentioned the boy in the story, which from this means it was speaking of Odin."

"Really, now?" Autor asked. "And what did it say about him, perchance?"

"Uh..." Evanee grabbed her journal and flipped through the pages, landing on one with a large dried blood stain. " _A heart torn out by a boy of wings, six points of soul to which they cling. It's those who seek another way, to free dark of night to day. If shadows fall, and demons rise, the trickster of death will find their prize._ "

Odin frowned. "What... what does that even mean....? It sounds like it's talking about me at first, but... shadows falling, demons rising... trickster of death..." He shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Sometimes they are over-exaggerations..." Evanee said.

"Not much of a prophecy if it makes no sense," Odin said, put out. "What could it even be exaggerating? It's your prophecy -- how do they work?"

Autor turned to Evanee. "The mention of Odin in your journal is of note, but unless you have any further insights as to what it means, I doubt we can glean any more information from it."

"I... I don’t really know anything. Not much of the prophecies have come true, and if they have, I haven't figured them out yet."

Odin grew silent, his mind brought back to his predicament. Clearly this was something that had been bothering him for some time, even before this, that he had managed to avoid thinking about until now.

"...Odin? Are you okay?"

"......" Odin is strangely quiet, and doesn't answer. However, his eyes flit off to the side, with an uncharacteristically avoidant look in his eyes.

Evanee reached out her hand, resting it on his. "Hey, look at me."

He jolted at the touch, greatly startled. Reflexively, his hand shoots out from under Evanee's hand and back toward his chest, as if he were trying to protect himself, looking at her with scared eyes. "I--!"

"Hey, calm down," Fakir said, scowling.

"I _am_ calm," Odin retorted, though with anxiety still lingering in his demeanor. "I-I was just startled, that's all."

“I’m sorry.” Evanee drew her hand back as well, curling her shoulders in towards her chest.

His hands remaining close to his chest, Odin turns his head ever so slightly towards Evanee. "No, don't apologize. It's my fault for being so stupidly jumpy."

Evanee relaxed, though afraid to ask what was bothering him.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Fakir asked.

"I already said, _I don't know_ ," Odin snapped at Fakir, his eyes flitting off to the side again. "What _am_ I supposed to do? If.... if I can't hide it away, then... do I really have to destroy it? But... no, I can't...." Odin shook his head, almost as if he can't bear the thought.

After a long silence, Autor turned to Odin. "Well, that's the short of it. That's how we both knew you. Do with that information what you will."

Autor hesitated. "As for other things... well, maybe I'll mention them some other time, when it's more relevant. Just... remember what I said about the heart."

"You don't need to remind me," Odin said sullenly.

He got off the chair and unceremoniously walked toward the cafe exit. "You have my thanks for explaining this to me, human named Autor. I have... some things to think about," he said as he opened the door, leaving.

After watching Odin leave, Autor sighed, looking at his watch. "I didn't think it would take this long," he muttered to himself. "I suppose I should have expected that, though..." He got up from his chair. "I have some matters to attend to, everyone. I'll see myself out," he said, heading for the door.

A brief silence followed after Autor had left.

Fakir sighed, and then turned to Evanee. "Alright, before I leave -- I have a question for you."

"Hmm? Yeah, sure," she said, pushing a smile to her face.

"What was all that about with the letter?" he asked. "It sounded like it was upsetting you for some reason."

Evanee's smile dropped. "The letter... is from Lytha. With everything that's been happening... with her, and me, and everything... I'm scared that if I let it all out, I'll blame myself for everything, or worse... blame her."

Fakir frowned. "You think she would blame you for everything?"

"That's the thing, she'd never blame me," Evanee said. "All she does is forgive when it comes to me."

"She wanted you to read her letter. Have you read it yet?"

"No," Evanee said. "If I read it before she leaves, I will try to convince her to stay. Give it to me when she's gone. Until then, I can't think about Lytha."

"Well, it's none of my business in the end," Fakir said, standing up to leave the cafe. "But either way, don't let this stew in your head. We don't want a repeat of that incident we had a whole evening to talk about. I have to go meet Ahiru now, so I'll see you later."

With that, Fakir left the cafe, leaving Evanee alone with her thoughts.


	17. In Which Odin and Dr. Crou Meet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Dr. Crou (created by Blueberryhope)

A few days later, a tall figure sat by the window in the cafe, reading the paper. A wide-brimmed hat rested on top of a strange face that was more akin to a bird skull. He was dressed nicely in a vest and suitpants with a pocketwatch chain hanging from his breast pocket. Apollo Bare served the guest black coffee and chatted with them before leaving.

Odin walked into the cafe with a somewhat heavy mood, seeming to have the conversation from some days ago still weighing on his mind. He seemed more than willing to take his mind off it, though, when his insatiable curiosity was piqued by the unfamiliar raven-headed guest in the cafe.

"Hey, I haven't seen you here before," he said, walking toward the new crow. "First time I've seen a crow other than me in this cafe!"

The man looked up at the boy from his paper. "Huh, I didn't know there were fledglings in this part of town either. I just arrived here so I'm new," he said. "What's your name, fledgling?"

"It's Odin," Odin said, looking at him with interest. "And yours, mister crow?"

"Doctor Crou. Original, I know. Although Odin is quite a unique name." He tapped a gloved hand on his beak. "Name of a Norse God, no?"

"Yeah, something like that," Odin nodded briefly. "A deity humans often call 'the Raven King'," he added, a grin sprouting on his face.

"Oho! Quite a lofty name you got there," Dr. Crou mused. "Destined for greatness is what your... parents hoped for, no?"

Odin paused. "I suppose..." he said slowly, "...but I don't really remember my parents, so I don't honestly know for sure why." He shrugged. "I like it well enough, though."

Dr. Crou was kinda taken aback, hoping he didn't hurt the boy. Quickly he decided to change the topic. "I see. I'm sorry for bringing up a sensitive topic."

Odin tilted his head at the reaction. He didn't appear bothered by the subject. "It's not a sensitive topic," he said, with just a hint of confusion. "No reason to concern yourself."

Dr. Crou folded the newspaper away and turned his full attention to Odin. "So, how do you like this town? It seems to be teeming with strange magic."

Upon hearing his question, Odin glanced out the window. "I... like it well enough. It's odd. Somehow, in some strange, vague way, this human town seems... familiar. Or like, there's some sorta connection I have to it." He shook his head. "No idea how, though..."

Dr. Crou nodded. "Then... you are not from here either?"

Odin shook his head. "Actually, this isn't even my world, so to say -- I come here from where I live through some sort of otherworldly portal that appears for me outside this town's cathedral. It's never disappeared when I didn't want it to, so I've just been coming and going as I please."

"Hmm, interesting. Something similar happened to me, too. Though I decided to stay here in search of an adventure. Apollo Bare is a nice employer, so I am planning to earn this world's money and see what this place's magic is all about."

If you could see a smile on a bird skull, Dr. Crou would be grinning. "Looks like you and me are in very similar situations, fledgling."

Odin's eager curiosity was all too evident on his face. "Huh! What do you know," he said with a small grin. "Glad I decided to stop by today. It's been a lot better than the past few times I was here, honestly."

"What, it was too peaceful for your taste?"

Odin grimaced. "Peaceful? Hardly. It was full of humans causing drama and scaring everybody. I guess they weren't trying to, but it sure put me on guard. Now whenever those humans are here, it gets all tense and no one has any fun."

Dr. Crou tilted his head in curiosity. "Huh, human drama is it? That does make things less fun. Usually they are the cause of most problems, even in my world. Sometimes you just want them to get along and chill a bit." He started to take a sip from his miraculously still-hot coffee. "By any chance, was some of that involving magic?"

"I don't know the details of it, but almost for sure, yeah," Odin answered. "One of them looked like it was some sort of blood magic, and the other was a curse from a contract a human made with an old human named Drosselmeyer."

Dr. Crou spit-taked and coughed from the mentioning of Drosselmeyer. "Ugh, that damn old human." He pressed his fingers against his temple. "Of course some idiot is involved with him, even if the rules are different here."

Odin frowned with confusion. "You know him, too? What is with this Drosselmeyer human?" He then remembered what Autor had told him the other day, and grew quiet. "To think I'm from a story he wrote..." he murmured to himself absentmindedly, though the look on his face made it all too obvious how much it troubled him.

"...Oh crap, he's a 'Spinner' in your world too? Man, I can't escape him," Dr. Crou said. "Wait, you said he wrote a story to create you?"

Odin hesitated. "I only know this from what another human told me, but... he knew things about my life that he couldn't have known unless he had been there with me, which is impossible."

"...I doubt this human would know anything of, uh, 'my story', would he?"

Odin shook his head. "If he did, I wouldn't know. We were only talking about what pertained to me."

"Of course, of course. I just arrived here, really doubt there will a story written about my world..." He took a drink from his coffee. "Hmm, but what I know of the Drosselmeyer from my world, and albeit its a completely different method, Drosselmeyer could have very much 'created' you in a form of a story."

"...Does that mean my whole world was his creation?" Odin asked quietly.

"...Quite possibly." He nodded solemnly. In barely a whisper, he added, "It was the same for me..."

Odin looks pensive. "If they control our worlds, what are we to do about it...? Are we really bound to the destiny of their whims, and theirs alone?"

"Well... from what happened in my world, I was still to be under that human's control. Including the humans, many things were calculated and planned. But many others didn't turn out as he as expected. So no, they don't control our lives and we aren't completely bound to their whims. We are still all connected, but we can sever them and make our own path if we can find the chance." He took a breath. "That's how I'm here anyways. Maybe it will happen for you too. Or maybe not. Who knows."

"Hmm," Odin said thoughtfully, not seeming comforted, but was not discouraged either. "I suppose as long as I can still reach out for the stars with my own talons, I can yet change them."

Dr. Crou chuckled. "Sure, you can. You are still young. Lots of time for you to grow up. Maybe a couple of years until you can grow big as me."

Odin grinned pridefully. "Yes, of course! I may be small now, but I'll be bigger than all the rest when I become an adult, I just know it!"

"Definitely, that's for sure. You need to eat better though, since you are still so scrawny, fledgling." Dr. Crou said teasingly.

Odin pouted. "...You don't have to put it like _that_..." Odin muttered, glancing away with some embarrassment.

"Hey, hey. Don't pout now. If you want, I can get you some of Apollo's beef tartare or a nicely seared rare filet mignon. He usually serves it as the dinner menu, but he knows my diet so he makes it for me for lunch at times. My treat."

Odin's eyes grew wide with amazement. "Wait -- for me? Really?!" He had to hold in his excitement, and all but failed. "I sure as seven hells won't object! I'm just... really surprised, that's all. Wasn't expecting that from a grown-up raven I just met!"

"I don't know where you grew up, but I would have thought the older ones would have helped feed the younger fledglings like you."

Odin pursed his lips. "I mean, sort of? But the ones that get old enough usually find another raven to sire children with, and at that point they leave the rest of us orphaned fledglings to take care of their own brood."

"Ah, makes things difficult I see. I am one of the eldest, but due to my unique situation, I had to care for my nestlings and watch over a few other strays." Dr. Crou called for Apollo to order additional items, trading some lively banter with his manager. "Shoot, I might need to come in on Monday to make up for that," Dr. Crou laughed to himself.

Odin tilted his head silently at the crow doctor, wondering what he was talking about.

"Ah, just work-related things. No need to worry yourself."

Odin blinked, then shrugged. "If you say so, Dr. Crou."

He smirked fondly. "Oh, by the way, I noticed I am sensing some magic in you. What kind of magic can you do?"

"Hmm? Oh, well, nothing that special," he said, conjuring up a black feather that briefly changed into a quill after emitting purple sparks before disappearing again. "Just some conjuring with my feathers, and the usual manner of form shifting," he added, changing into an avian form of a small raven in a flurry of black feathers, perching himself on the back of the chair. "You could call this my true form perhaps, but when I'm in human territory I like to be polite."

"Huh, fascinating." Dr. Crou looked at the boy's magic while stroking the bottom of his beak like it was a chin. "I can't transform into a crow like that anymore, although I'll don more black feathers and have sharper talons in my real form. Maybe I'll show you later, it tends to ruin these clothes and you know that these humans are particular about being proper. Still, it's rare for a complete transformation of a human form. Must have taken quite some skill."

Odin changed back to human form during the doctor's reply. "More out of constant practice than anything, I suppose," Odin said, shrugging. "The others can do it at will too, but they do say sometimes that I hang around humans an awful lot for a raven..."

"Hmm, not a bad thing. Most of us couldn't do it at will, not enough magic in them. They were hidden away, and those who could do complete transformation were valued instead..." Dr. Crou looked into the distance as he gets lost in his thoughts. "Made it easier to blend in and interact with humans. It was seen as a specialized gift."

Odin looked at Dr. Crou curiously. "Is magic uncommon in your world?"

"I guess you can say that. Everyone can do a weak form of magic, like levitate an item or making illusions. Those who can do multiple or strong magic was few and far between. I actually had to look out for magic development in my nestlings and extended 'family' group."

"Huh," Odin said, looking thoughtful. "Where I come from, it's common enough that sometimes it's like weeds in a farming field; you're trying to get rid of unwanted ones more often than trying to find ones you want. I guess I might even take it for granted a little."

"Haha, perhaps. But really, cleverness is always the strength of a raven. Even those with weak magic."

Odin nodded with a smile. "That's why even though I'm small, or even scrawny, I know I can come out on top if I can just think of the way to get there."

"Mmhmm, exactly!"

Then, Lytha's twin siblings ran into the store, saying hi to Odin as they ran past him.

"Oh, hi there, twin humans," Odin greeted them casually. "What's the rush?"

The twins slowly walked to the table. "We are in charge of getting food, since Sissy is gone," the two of them replied.

Odin paused, remembering Lytha's solemn mission she was determined to go on. "Yeah. She's got something important to do out there. Take good care of her home for her until she gets back, alright?"

The twins nodded their heads and turned to the stranger. "Another crow but bigger," they noted aloud.

Dr. Crou waved at the little children. "Yup, I'm a bigger crow, little ones. I see that you all are friends."

"We hadn't started out as friends," Odin said. "At first they were scared of me because I yelled at them for grabbing me. But then they were so determined to show they weren't scared of me because they still wanted to be friends even then, and..." He blushed ever so slightly. "Well, if they were insisting so much, who was I to deny them?"

"Hahaha, such interesting little ones. You two are not scared of me, are you?"

The twins shook their heads. "We're not scared. You look friendly," they said.

"Oh? I'm flattered. Most would say my face is odd and get scared because of it."

"...Can we touch your face?" the twins asked with sparkles in their eyes.

Dr. Crou nodded. "Yes, but only for ten seconds. And don't touch my eyes." He started counting very slowly.

The twins quickly touched his face, and after five seconds they stopped. Odin held back a laugh, thinking the scene was as silly as it was amusing.

"...eight...nine...ten. Good job. Now you two need to go get the food you came here for."

The twins nodded, but before they took off, they handed Odin another letter. "Sissy said give this to you. Bye-bye!" The twins paid for the food at the front counter and then ran off outside.

Dr. Crou peered over at Odin. "Huh, interesting. Do you want me to excuse myself so you can read that in private? However, the food should be coming soon, so I don't know if you would want to read it now."

Odin glanced at the letter for a moment. "I'll read it later," he replied, stuffing it into his sleeve for safekeeping. "I can't let that fresh meat you're giving me grow stale!"

Apollo came out from the back and served their food, which they gladly feast on. They chatted a little more about food and the best perches to relax on, promising to meet again to do so. After the food, they parted ways, glad to have met each other that day.


	18. In Which Marilee Has a School Audition

Marilee took a deep breath, looking at the academy with a determined look. She had saved enough for tuition and she forged the signatures -- she hoped her ballet dancing would be enough.

A teacher walked up to Marilee. "Marilee? Marilee Bryne, I assume?"

Marilee nodded her head. "Y-Yes, that's me."

"Follow me to the ballet studio -- there we will evaluate your performance."

Marilee began to follow the teacher. Oh geez, her heart was beating fast!

The teacher and Marilee reached the ballet room. where the teacher handed Marilee a ballet practice outfit. "Here, change into this."

The ravenette nodded before taking the outfit and going to change into it. She blinked twice. _How did they... get the right size?_ she thought as she stepped out of the dressing room.

"Good, it fits you perfectly. She was not wrong. Now, let's start the evaluation."

Marilee tilted her head, wondering who 'she' was. She began to follow the teacher to the dance room.

"Now stand in the middle. I will play the song, and you can start dancing."

With that, the teacher began to play "Moonlight Sonata".

Marilee took a deep breath. When the song commenced, Marilee started to dance. Each step, she did her best to seem graceful and elegant. She did the twirls and stances needed for the dance, each step with all the courage and happiness she could muster until the song came to an end

The teacher clapped. "Very beautiful, Miss Marilee."

“Ah! Th-thank you!” Marilee stammered, blushing a bit.

"Now, please wait here while I discuss with the other teachers," the teacher said as she left the room.

"Okay..." Marilee nearly let out a caw as she started to pace a bit.

After a few minutes, the teacher came back into the room smiling at the girl. "Congratulations, Miss Marilee, you have been accepted into the academy."

"R-really?! Th-that’s wonderful!"

"Now please come in for classes tomorrow, so we can get you settled in for school as soon as possible." The teacher handed Marilee a paper. "Just give this paper to the office lady, and she will do the rest for you; any questions?"

Marilee shook her head. “N-No questions! Thank you!” The girl rushed to get changed back to her regular clothing before rushing to the office.

"Welcome, may I help you?" the lady at the office desk asked.

"Ah! Um, the teacher asked me to give you this form," Marilee answered as she handed over the paper

The lady took the paper and started doing the paperwork. "Okay, Marilee Bryne, correct?"

Marilee nodded. "Y-Yes ma'am."

"Now, normally we ask that you pay for staying in the dorms, but since someone has already paid it for you, so you won't have to worry about it."

The office lady finished typing the paperwork and handed Marilee two keys as well as a piece of paper. "This is the key to your dorm room, and this is the key to your locker. This is the schedule for your classes, and they start tomorrow for you, so sleep early. Any questions, dear?"

Marilee shook her head."N-No! I’m fine! Thank you!”

She left the office, wondering who had paid for her. It was strange... but, she decided to head to her attic to get her things.


	19. In Which Noah Arrives and Dr. Crou Meets the Heroes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Noah (created by Tjsmar)

A young man with brown hair named Noah stepped into the cafe, looking around at the unusual atmosphere.

Dr. Crou stepped out from the kitchen doors and greeted the new customer. "Welcome, please be seated wherever you like -- we will get to you momentarily."

"Copy that." Noah smiled at the stranger, choosing a large table near the window and resting his feet on the chair across from him.

Dr. Crou swiftly cleaned up the register and then made his way over there. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I will be your server for today. What would you like to order?"

"I'll take... hmmm... A nutmeg mocha and a cinnamon roll," Noah said, grinning at the man.

"Alright, a nutmeg mocha and a cinnamon roll. Anything else?"

"Nothing but the story of how you ended up working here," he replied with another bright smile.

"Alright, I'll tell you that when I get right back." Dr. Crou shouted the order as he went into the kitchen, and shortly after, came right out with a plated cinnamon roll.

"So, are you some kind of traveler, collecting people's stories, or are you curious because of my good looks?" Dr. Crou said jokingly.

Noah smiled again at the remark. "Both. Well, mainly for the good story... I like my history."

"Well, it's a simple story," Dr. Crou replied. "I found a portal-looking thing hanging out near my nest house -- a type of home for bird people like me -- and noticed it connected to this town here. I wanted adventure, and I didn't really have a job back in my world, so I hopped over here and stumbled upon this cafe. The owner Apollo is really nice and hired me, so now I'm enjoying my time working here, even making friends with another fledgling."

"Portal-looking thing, huh? I don't hear that too often. You and I are in the same boat, not being from around here."

Dr.Crou looked over at Noah. "Yeah, you might say many people here are not actually from 'here' either, if you catch my drift," he said. "...And your magic is strange too."

"..." Noah was silent for a moment. "...You can sense my magic?"

"Hey, I'm a talking bird man from your point of view. Sensing magic should not be surprising."

"Well, I just assumed... I mean, my magic isn't working very well at the moment."

Dr. Crou tilted his head curiously. "Is there... an interference?"

"Yes, there seems to be. I attempted to travel back in time, the way my great-great-grandparents used to, but I was instead brought to a strange dimension, and there was suddenly a portal into this little town within the center of a gear. I stepped through, but I haven't been able to find my way back yet, and traveling back in time here is risky, because of the fact that I don't know the history of this place," Noah said. "Wow, I really just spread out my life story, and I don't even know your name."

"I used to be a spy in my past life, so I'm great at extracting information, though I hate it when people ramble on forever," he said with a deadpan expression, though that was completely false. "But, wow, a time traveler? That's new."

Noah did not respond to the crow man's remark at first, but then he shrugged. "It's a very strict and distinct family line. We are tasked to to watch over the past and present, so that the future doesn't end in havoc. I'm Noah, by the way," the boy said, extending his arm out.

"Dr. Crou." He pulled his hands out of his gloves and gave Noah's hand a firm shake. "So... Noah, Boy from the House of the Keepers of Time, what are you planning to do? I think I know a couple of people who could help... although, it might be harder for me to convince them."

"I dunno, it's kind of sweet here. But I'll let you know if I need that opportunity."

"Alright, will do. Oh, excuse me for a moment--"

Noah nodded as Dr. Crou left the table.

Dr. Crou quickly walked to the baristas, retrieved a full mug from them, and placed a drink on Noah's table. "Nutmeg mocha for the time traveler. Please enjoy." Dr. Crou went back to his cleaning duties while Noah chilled and enjoyed his coffee.

Then, the twins walked into the cafe, looking around and trying to find someone.

"Hello, what are you two looking for?" Noah grinned at the kiddos.

"We are looking for Sister Evanee," they replied.

"Someone named Evanee, huh? What does she look like?"

"Very pretty," Lisa said.

Noah smiled brightly again. "Is that so...? And you said she was your sister?"

"Sissy told us to call Evanee sister," Liam said.

"Huh, well, why would you two be looking for her here?"

"We got a letter from Sissy to Sister Evanee," they said.

"Is there anywhere else you can find her at? I'll help," Noah said.

The twins shook their heads.

"But what makes you think she'd be here?"

"Sister Evanee works here," Lisa replied.

"Does she? Well, I'll have to come here more often if she's as pretty as you say."

"Both Sissy and Sister Evanee are pretty," Liam said.

Overhearing this conversation, Dr. Crou made a mental note that Noah was a skirt chaser.

"Well well, in that case, I'd love to--"

Just as Noah was about to finish his sentence, the door opened and a Tired!Evanee walked in.

The twins tackled Evanee. "Sister Evanee!"

"Hello, little ones!" Evanee patted their heads endearingly. "Is everything okay at home without Lytha?"

The twins nodded their heads."Sissy sent us a letter."

Upon seeing this Evanee in person, Noah smiled. So the twin kids were right.

After Evanee greeted them, he twins handed Lytha's letter to her.

"Oh..." Evanee's face dropped a little. She took it in her hands and sat down at a nearby chair, opening up the letter.  
  


_Dear Evanee,_

_I have finally reached the town I grew up in....but to be honest, I'm scared of what I will discover. I hope the twins are not giving you trouble -- also you haven't been working too much, right? Anyways, I'm writing this letter to tell you that I will be back next week._

_Signed, Lytha_

_P.S. there is a photo inside with this letter_

"Oh, thank goodness," Evanee said with a sigh as she finished the letter. She opened up the envelope to see the photo.

At this point, Noah stood up and slid into the seat across from her, ready to introduce himself, but she hadn't seemed to notice as she was wrapped up in the letter's contents.

The photo showed Lytha in a store wearing a princess dress, smiling at the camera. Evanee gave a little chuckle and hugged the twins tightly.

"Sister Evanee?" they asked.

"What is it?" Noah asked, looking over at Evanee.

“AAAAaAah!” She jumped up from the table, nearly falling over. "Who the hell are you?!"

The twins just blinked.

Noah smiled and extended his hand. "Well, if you hadn't just reacted like that, I'd say they guy of your dreams. I'm Noah.”

"..." Evanee stared at him.

The twins just tilted their heads. They picked up the photo Evanee dropped and looked at it.

"It's Sissy!" Lisa said.

Evanee turned her attention back toward the twins, side-eyeing the strange boy. "Yes, it is. If you'll excuse me for a moment.... do you two want anything to eat? Free of charge."

"Cheesecake!" they replied.

"On it!" Evanee speedwalked behind the counter across the room.

The twins showed Noah Lytha's photo. "Look, this is Sissy -- very pretty, right?" Liam asked.

"Ah yes, very pretty," Noah smiled at the two. "I hope she's less... awkward than your friend over there."

"Sissy is very kind and fun, and very, umm... humble and outgoing."

"She sounds very sweet." Noah smiled a little.

Dr. Crou looked at Evanee as she approached him behind the counter. "Hey, it's against the policy to go into staff quarters if your shift isn't scheduled. I'll take care of whatever you are trying to get."

"Sorry, Korvus. I just wanna help. I feel useless to you all."

"Just relax. It's your day off." He scoffed. "Though is the other guy bugging you or something?"

She shrugged. "I suppose I can't judge, since I have only had one interaction," she said, smiling at Korvus.

"Alright, then." Dr. Crou went back to polishing the drinking glasses. "Oh, by the way, I heard from Apollo that you have a very knowledgeable cousin who lives here? That guy over there happens to be a traveler. Wanted to know about the town's history, but unfortunately I just arrived, so I couldn't be much help."

“Ah, you must be speaking of Autor. He's a piece of work, but he knows loads about the town. I was going to meet with him here today, but he canceled on me. Still, I thought I'd come in anyway."

Marilee quietly stepped into the cafe as the ravenette looked around. Evanee stepped out from behind the counter to wave frantically at Marilee.

Marilee spotted Evanee and smiled. The small girl went over toward her and the man who looked like he wore a crow mask, like she did herself sometimes.

"Hello, little one." Dr. Crou waved. "May I ask why are you dressed as a crow?"

Marilee blinked twice. "Oh! I just like crows, is all," she answered.

"Hi Marilee!" Evanee gave her a large hug, signaling towards the seat next to her.

Marilee's mask was peeking out of her bag as she smiled at Evanee. “I got accepted at the school!” she said.

At this point, Noah stood from his seat to investigate the new person. He leaned on the counter and offered his hand out to Marilee. "And who are you?"

Marilee blinked twice at Noah and then smiled. "Hi, I'm Marilee. It's nice you meet you, sir!"

Evanee ignored Noah and took Marilee's hands. "You got in! I knew you would!"

Noah smiled. "There's no need to say 'sir', I'm--"

He stopped when Evanee gave him a small glare of annoyance.

"Congrats on getting into school, little one," Dr. Crou put down the washcloth and clapped for her. "Remember to study hard and maintain your grades."

"You are ever so sweet, Doc," Evanee presented a wide grin.

"You guys need to take a seat though, the counter is getting crowded with all of you standing around here." He pulled out some bar stools for the three of them.

Marilee let out a small caw-like noise as she sat down. "S-Sorry."

Dr. Crou made a mental observation that Marilee possessed magic, but had her memories sealed. Strange...

Evanee rolled her eyes as Noah sat next to her again.

"So, Dr. Crou, was it?" Noah asked "How is everything?"

"Well, besides the first twenty minutes we chatted, things are well. Just doing my job here," Dr. Crou said as he started polishing silverware.

Evanee turned to Noah. "You are really bad at small talk -- you know that, right?"

"Now, now. No need to roast him within the first five minutes of you meeting this guy."

"..." Evanee shifted uncomfortably.

Noah smiled. "See, no need to roast marshmallows until you've warmed up to me."

Suddenly, Autor pushed the door to the cafe open and made his way to his favorite chair. "Hm?" Autor looked with surprise at the new corvid staff member, new customer, Marilee, the twins, and Evanee at the counter. "What on earth?"

"Oh, Autor! Did you decide to change your mind?" Evanee asked.

"Erm, uh yes. I guess..." Autor stood there gaping at the crow man.

"So..." he said as he made his way to the counter to join the rest of them. "I see some of you are new here."

Dr. Crou nodded. "Hello. Yes, arrived here about a couple of weeks ago."

Noah looked Autor up and down. "Well, hello there. I love the glasses."

"Why thank you." He did the glasses shine.

Dr. Crou groaned at this conceited boy.

"See, Evanee, some people can receive an introductory compliment," Noah beamed and extended his hand towards Autor. "The name is Noah."

"How do you even know my...?" Evanee looked over at the twins with a lil glare in her eyes, but they were busy happily eating their cheesecake.

"And I'm Autor. What brings you here to Goldcrowne?"

Noah shrugged. "I found myself here through a series of... strange events. I can't -- and don't really want to -- go back until I look into its history."

"Its history? What sort of strange events?" Autor asked.

Dr. Crou coughed. "He meant he is stuck here and wanted to learn more about the history of this town to pass the time."

Noah shot a glance at Dr. Crou, unsure if he should tell this stranger about the magical events, but found himself relieved when Autor answered instead.

"Ohhh, well, why didn't you just say so! I am very well versed in the history of the this magnificent town of Goldcrowne -- its buildings, academics, developments of the fine arts, as well as.... its hidden history," Autor said coyly.

Evanee cleared her throat. "Doctor Korvus Crou, this is the Autor Mr. Bare was speaking of."

Dr. Crou nodded. "I am very much aware."

"So what aspect of Goldcrowne do you want to know?" Autor asked.

"I was thinking anything... unnatural. Anything mystifying or magical."

"Ohohohohoho--" Autor's glasses shined again as he mischievously laughed. "Well, you have asked the right person for that."

Evanee rolled her eyes. Boys and their... hobbies, she thought. Dr. Crou would have rolled his eyes as well if he actually had them.

"Now, there is an interesting fact this town was built upon a crater of a meteorite. However, there is another tale of the great Oak Tree that granted powers of writing stories into reality to those worthy..." Autor continued. "That tree was there since the beginning of this town's founding. It used to be part of this town's pagan religion, until its conversion later in the 15th century."

Noah's eyes glistened with excitement.

"But well into the 18th century, believers of the pagan tree grew, and many had tried to become Spinners of reality. Then, one man by the name of Drosselmeyer had been granted that power."

Dr. Crou now listened intently at this version of history.

"He started as a humble toymaker in his youth, but then he joined the Great Oak cult and was granted the power to Spin stories into reality. Any story he wrote, came true. Whether it was stories of tears or laughter, it came true."

"Spinning stories, huh?" Noah asked.

"Yes. And many rulers and powerful people had come to him, for him to spin their stories. Most came for fame and power. Success in battle or whatnot. And they all came true.

"However, it was said that they also had begun to fear Drosselmeyer, for his power was getting too strong."

"So, if I were to ask if he could make a story where Evanee here likes me, he could do that?" Noah smirked jokingly.

"Erm, I guess? But why would you want to make someone like _her_ like you?" Autor remarked.

Evanee's jaw dropped.

Dr. Crou facepalmed and grumbled that Autor did this to himself.

"Bite your tongue while you still can, Autor. One of us has more Spinning powers than the other," Evanee said.

Dr. Crou looked at Evanee, realizing that Spinning power was the magic he was sensing... although it still felt a little bit different...

"Wait wait wait. You have what now?" Noah looked between the two.

"Eh, whatever." Autor shrugged. "Believe it or not, Noah, we are actually distant relatives of Drosslmeyer." Autor puffed up with pride. "We inherited the magic from his bloodline."

Dr. Crou decided not to mention that Autor's magic was much weaker than Evanee's...

"Well well well, that makes her even more interesting. Connected to the magic, you two are," Noah said.

Evanee banged her head on the table. "Please stop."

"Yes, and I was also quite involved in finishing the story that Drosselmeyer trapped this town in, well after his death," Autor added.

"You must be very good at what you do, Autor..." Noah said. "When did this all happen?"

"Well, the story started ever since Drosselmeyer's time, so about a couple hundred years ago or so."

"And the Grand Finale ended around a year ago," Evanee said.

"Who else was involved in the... Grand Finale?" Dr. Crou asked.

Evanee sighed. "Wish I had been, but someone didn't think I could do anything. I believe the main people involved were Rue, and Mytho -- who was the prince in one of Drossy's stories -- as well as our other cousin, Fakir, and a girl who is... a duck, named Ahiru."

"Are they... still around?" Dr. Crou ventured.

"Rue and Mytho now and then, but Fakir and Ahiru are here pretty often. You've probably seen them come in, but didn't know. Cute couple -- not that they know that. Dark haired boy around this height--" Evanee motioned with her hand. "--and a cute lil blue-eyed red head."

"Ah, I see." Dr. Crou was relieved to hear that this universe's main characters had a better ending than his did.

Just then, the door opened to four people coming in. Mytho walked in with Rue, linked arm-in-arm, followed by Fakir and Ahiru.

"--and then he said it was great!" Ahiru said chipperly.

Fakir pushed the door wider so Ahiru get through. "Uh-huh, did he now?"

"Oh, speak of the devil--" Autor said, glancing their way.

Evanee blinked rapidly. "What's with you five always appearing right when we talk about you?"

"Hey, Autor! And Evanee! And Lisa and Liam!" Ahiru said, waving.

The twins looked up from their cheesecake upon hearing their names. "It's Ahiru, Fakir, Prince Mytho and Princess Rue!" they said.

The twins went over and hugged Ahiru.

"I'm so glad to see you guys," Ahiru said as she hugged the twins back. "And, and... two new people, hi!"

Noah stood up from his seat. "Quite the intriguing bunch, are we now?"

"Ah, Rue. Glad to see you here." Autor said formally.

Noah's eyes scanned the four, resting on Rue. Was that tension he heard in Autor's voice? Unrequited love?

Rue nodded at Autor with a warm smile. "The same to you, Autor."

Fakir stared at Dr. Crou, feeling a little defensive.

"Welcome, please don't crowd around. There are plenty of seats," Dr. Crou said to the group.

"Rue, a pleasure to be in the acquaintance of a lovely woman. I've never seen eyes so keen as yours," Noah said.

Autor shot a look at Noah, one of shock and disbelief, while Fakir cocked an eyebrow.

Rue looked at the unfamiliar young man with a smile as well, though the warmth she afforded Autor did not follow it. "I see you already know who I am. And who might you be?"

"Ah, excuse my rudeness, allow me to introduce myself. I am Noah. Nice to meet you all," he said with his usual bright smile. Noah stepped over to Fakir, noting he seemed to be the one Evanee had described to him. "Fakir, yes? I suppose good looks run in the family."

Fakir quizzically looked at this Noah person. _Is... he hitting on me? Well, he made a mistake hitting on Rue, too._

Then, as though he has severe short term memory loss, Noah stepped towards another member of the group. "Red hair, piercing sky blue eyes. You must be Ahiru," he gave a small bow.

Ahiru looked at this Noah person. He gave a weird yet familiar vibe... but from where? "Ahhh, h-he-ello. Nice to meet you," she said, giving a weak smile.

Mytho's eyes paused with slight startlement on Dr. Crou. "Oh! I.... you are not someone familiar to me, I confess," he said, trying his best to be polite. "It seems you are a new staff member here?"

Dr. Crou nodded. "Ah, yes. I just arrived a couple of weeks ago, and found work here. I see you are all friends with Evanee, my co-worker," he said. "My name is Dr. Crou. I hope... we could all get along."

Evanee tensed under the mention of her name. "I wouldn't say friends... I mean, they are so much more, uhhhhhh... higher than me -- in status, that is."

Dr. Crou tried his best to be friendly, but he was hesitant. For as familiar they all were to him, he knew they didn't recognize him.

Noah smiled again and looked back at Evanee. "You are very cute when you are nervous."

"Hey, I'm not--"

Autor chuckled in retort.

"And last but not least, you must be the prince from the story. Ever so dashing you are, I'd choose you to be my Prince Charming."

Mytho nodded cordially, affording Noah the same courtesy he gave everyone else. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Noah," he replied.

The twins whispered into Evanee's ears. "Sister Evanee, is he gay?"

Evanee sighed. "I hope so, maybe then he won't make more moves on me."

Dr. Crou made a mental note that Noah was not just a skirt chaser, but very much hit on anything that moved.

When Rue spotted Dr. Crou, she also froze for a moment. Taking a cue after Mytho, however, she calmly, if fairly stiffly, gave a civil nod to the feathered man in front of her. "I.... I hope so as well," she answered, pushing a smile to her lips. "Shall we find a table for our party here?"

"Perhaps we can all relocate from the counter to one of the more spacious tables usually reserved for big parties such as this one." Dr. Crou gestured the group to a nice long table that could fit at least ten guests.

"Wow, where should we sit, Fakir?" Ahiru asked.

"Hmm, how about here?" Fakir replied, mostly avoiding eye contact with Dr. Crou.

With a nod to Rue, Mytho escorted the two of them to a pair of seats at one corner, with Rue's chair next to where Ahiru and Fakir were about to sit. Autor took a seemingly random seat, but was a bit across from where Rue was sitting.

Evanee looked at Fakir with a questioning 'is it okay if i come too?' look. Fakir motioned her towards them with a curt nod. Ahiru beamed at Evanee as she came to the table.

However, the twins didn't know where to sit, and stood there looking at each other.

The twins tugged on Evanee's shirt. "Sister Evanee, we better go -- this is adult talk, right?"

Evanee looked down at the twins. "That's up to you, sweethearts. It shouldn't be too heavy, but you are excused if you wanna go home."

The twins nodded, and went back home.

Dr. Crou quickly set out menus and silverware, pouring out drinks and pulling out his waiter's memo.

Noah smiled yet again, inching towards the seat on the other side of Rue, before Evanee put a hand on his chest.

"What do you think you are doing?" Evanee asked.

"Sitting," Noah replied.

Evanee shook her head. "Yeah, well, you -- are sitting next to me." She plopped him down into an empty chair and sat between him and Fakir.

"Wow, Evanee. I didn't know you were that into him," Autor remarked.

Evanee was tongue-tied at this. "D-d-d--d, uh, I..." After a pause, she continued, "I'm not! I'm. Not. He isn't that cute!"

Almost pointedly not looking at Noah, Rue turned to Ahiru. "It's been a little while since we've last talked, Ahiru. I hope you've been doing well in classes?"

Ahiru turned to Rue and excitedly started talking about her new ballet teacher. Fakir just sat silently, annoyed at the whole situation.

Dr. Crou cleared his throat. "Ahem! Now, now, if you are all situated, will we start with some drinks?"

Noah raised his hand. "I'll take a rose water," he said, before pausing for a moment. "Make that two rose waters!"

"Oh, I'd like orange juice!" Ahiru said.

"Earl Grey with a peel of orange. No sugar. Black," Fakir said.

Evanee turned towards Fakir. "Lemme guess, like your soul."

"Haha, very funny."

"Just a glass of mineral water, please," Rue said delicately.

"I shall have the same," Mytho added with a nod to Rue.

Dr. Crou jotted down everyone's orders and quickly disappeared into the back.

Noah looked at the royal couple. "Ever so elegant, you two. You seem so in sync."

Rue closed her eyes. "That's to be expected. Mytho is my prince, after all."

"..." Noah was silent for a moment as Evanee stared at him. "...Please forgive me. I did not realise either of you were spoken for. I believe I've been too forward," Noah said.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Mytho said with a friendly smile at Noah, though one could infer that the exchange had somewhat gone over his head.

Dr. Crou came back to the table holding a tray on one hand, in which he balanced eight glasses of drinks.

Evanee rose from her chair immediately. "My goodness, Korvus, you are going to break your arms!"

As quickly as he had came, Dr. Crou placed the drinks down with great ease. "Alright, two rose waters here. Orange juice for you, miss. Mineral waters for the royal couple."

"Thank you, Mister Crou!" Ahiru said.

"And an Earl Grey with an orange peel, black with no sugar, for you, sir."

Evanee sat back down and said, "Thank you, Korvus."

"Now, do we need some time for snacks or entrees?"

Evanee looked over at Noah. So he had a little bit of decency, it seemed. "Hey, why'd you get two rose waters?"

"We will also get some pumpkin tarts and a sesame crossiant," Fakir said to Dr. Crou.

"Oh, Mytho and Rue said the tea cakes here are really good too!" Ahiru said.

"...and two tea cakes then," Fakir added.

"The apricot tumeric biscuits as well, please!" Evanee said.

"I'll have a small seasonal fruit cup," Rue says, turning to Mytho for his order.

"I'll take a fruit cup as well," Autor said, pushing up his glasses.

"I'll order an apple tart, and a raspberry compote for Rue as well," he said, adding the latter before Rue could object.

Rue glanced at Mytho with a bit of trepidation, seemingly hesitant as to whether to look happy or embarrassed, and Mytho gave her a brief encouraging smile.

Dr. Crou nodded, scribbling down everyone's orders, and then quickly disappeared again to the other side of the cafe.

"So, what brings everyone here?" Autor asked.

"Hmm? Well, we wanted to go to the café today. It's been a while since we went," Ahiru said, motioning to Fakir and herself. "But I didn't expect Mytho and Rue to be here either. We ran into them before making our way here."

Evanee looked to her side at Noah, who was staring at her intently. What kinda creep was this guy?

"Man, it's been such a long time since we could just sit here and talk about whatever. Not worrying about school, or story spinning, or anything else."

"Mm-hmm," Fakir said, starting to sip his tea

Evanee smiled. "It is quite the relief. I haven't had an incident since our favorite Spinner gave us a visit."

Autor rolled his eyes, mumbling something about Fakir not being the favorite Spinner. Noah just sat there, unsure if it was wise to insert himself into this kind of conversation.

Mytho nodded, smiling at Ahiru. "It seems we are all too often preoccupied with daily life even in these peaceful times. I am also full glad to have the chance to simply enjoy the company of our friends."

Dr. Crou reappeared with two trays, carefully balancing them on his arm without difficulty. "Alright, so we have... pumpkin tarts, a seasame croissant, and tea cakes for the little duckling. Apricot tumeric biscuits for Evanee. A fruit cup for Autor, and a fruit cup and raspberry compote for Miss Rue."

"Thank you!" Evanee sung a little, taking the biscuits in her hands and chomping down gleefully.

"And apple tart for Prince Sie--I mean, Mytho. Please enjoy."

With a bow, Dr. Crou went to the back in order to clean up the kitchen.

Evanee froze, looking at Fakir to see if he had noticed that last sentence from Korvus. Fakir gave a long sideways look at the kitchen doors.

Mytho glanced at Fakir with a touch of concern. "....Does his presence trouble you, Fakir?"

"Possibly..." Fakir trailed off.

"Fakir, ohmygosh the tea cakes _are_ really good," Ahiru said as she took a bite of them.

"I... would be lying if I said I wasn't taken aback upon seeing that man," Mytho replied to Fakir, keeping his voice down. "I suppose, though, if he means us no harm, then we should behave with civility despite our personal feelings."

"...I suppose."

"So, Noah, was there anything else you wanted to know about the town?" Autor asked him.

"Huh?" Noah perked up, averting his gaze from Evanee. "Nothing at the moment. Though, I was wondering if you happened to know of any public records I can look into."

"Hmm... well, Noah, you can always try the Academy's library. But the best bet would be the Bookmen's private records... which would be more difficult to access."

Noah thanked Autor, taking a sip of his rose water and pushing the other one towards Evanee.

Evanee sighed at the prince and writer's remarks. "I don't think he means any harm at all. If he did, I probably would have had something written in my lil book about it."

"It's... not that..." Fakir said. "He almost called you by your real name. Which I was sure you didn't introduce yourself as such."

Evanee sighed. "So you did notice."

"It would be hard to not notice."

"(I didn't notice...)" Ahiru said in a small voice.

Mytho blinked, realizing Fakir was right. "Yes, he did..." Mytho said hesitantly. "So he knows me somehow, even though neither of us have met before. That I cannot explain..."

"If he had been a longtime resident I'd not find it strange, but he's clearly new to this place," Fakir added.

"Maybe he's read the Prince and the Raven?" Evanee asked.

"Could he be from another story?" Ahiru asked.

"We can't rule out that possiblity, considering the various characters gathering ever since this cafe had opened," Fakir said.

Noah stayed silent, not sure if he should reveal the information he and Dr. Crou had shared when he first came in.

Rue, looking troubled, turns to Evanee. "You also work here, don't you? Do you know anything else about that man?"

Evanee squeaked a little at the sudden attention from Rue. "Well, I.... I'm sure I do, but I can't seem to recall, my mind was somewhere else during that time"

Rue pursed her lips with frustration. "Is it really something so easy to forget?"

Evanee cowered at Rue's remark. "I..."

"I don't recall a being like him from any of my research. So I highly doubt it's a story that Drosselmeyer had wrote," Autor said.

Rue recognized the cowering as the body language of someone thoroughly intimidated by her, which was even more frustrating, but she knew there was no point in pressing the matter. So she sighed and said, "Never mind. Just say something if you remember anything."

Evanee relaxed a little. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

Dr. Crou finally came out of the back room. "How are we all doing? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. If you don't mind me asking, who are you and where are you from?" Fakir asked him.

"(Geh! Always straight to the point!)" Ahiru said quietly.

"Oh? Hmm, well..." He started to sit down in an empty chair, contemplating what to say to all of them. "Well, would you believe me if I said I'm from another universe?"

"A what?" Fakir said.

"Another universe?" Autor asked.

"Another universe...?" Mytho said pensively. "A universe... fairly different from this one?"

"Not fairly different, but completely different," Dr. Crou said. "However, it's still very familiar considering I now meet all of you here. I only came here because there was a weird portal that opened up that didn't go away, so I decided to go for an adventure. My old world didn't have anything for me, and this place was very peaceful. I don't mean any ill or anything, just trying to live a simple life."

"Don't worry, Korvus, it won't do you much trouble if you tell the truth," Evanee smiled.

"Haha, very well. But it might be quite a lot to handle..." Dr. Crou said. "I'm pretty sure Ravens had a malicious or antagonistic role in this town?"

Fakir and most of the others nodded.

"Well, in my world also, Ravens and crows were also antagonists. And I was on that side."

Mytho blinked. "...'Was'...?"

"Yes, 'was'. I betrayed my kin, and joined to fight with the enemy... Who were you guys." He let out a chuckle. "You were called The Swan Warriors. Felt odd being the only Crow."

Mytho looked thoughtful. "So you did know another world's version of me, then..."

"Yes, and of Miss Rue, and Ahiru, and Autor -- oh man, Autor, you got on my nerves -- and of you, Fakir."

He looked solemnly at the dark green haired boy.

"Huh, Autor getting on your nerves, I can relate to that," Evanee remarked.

"Was he... Was Drosselmeyer there too?" Fakir asked.

"Yes. Yes, he was," Dr. Crou replied. "He was called a 'Spinner' in our world, too. But it meant something completely different."

"What do you mean?" Evanee asked.

"Well, for starters, he actually created me. And all the other ravens, including The Raven. A Spinner was a mad scientist Creator in a sense, the magical power to create life. And eventually we found out that our world's Fakir had that same ability, too."

Dr. Crou continued. "We eventually defeated the Raven and Drosselmeyer, but at a price... Siegfried and Rue sacrificed themselves for a ritual to summon Tutu, a powerful goddess, and it destroyed the Raven and Drosselmeyer and all my former comrades..."

He paused. "But Ahiru was the vessel to summon her, so she fell into a coma. Fakir was the only one who survived, but just barely. And that's why there was nothing left for me to stay for over there... so I decided to cross the portal for another more peaceful life."

Evanee started to tear up. "That's... that's awful! Oh Korvus, I'm sorry you had to go through that!"

"Well, it's alright. It comforts me that all of you here are enjoying yourselves. Like old times..." Dr. Crou trailed off.

Rue sat there silently, utterly unsure of how to react.

Evanee stood up, walking over to the doctor, offering him an embrace.

"Uh--nope. I'm actually not much in a mood for that," he said as he put a hand up. "Thanks for the gesture, tho."

Evanee nodded and sat back down.

"(I'll give you a hug,)" Noah said to her.

"(No.)"

Mytho also was silent for some moments. "I see... so, in that world, you were in fact our comrade..."

"At the end, we were. You and I had fought multiple occasions before, so there was lots of tension," Dr. Crou said.

"I can't really believe it, though. That in your universe we died... It feels kinda weird," Ahiru said.

Evanee beamed at her coworker. "I suppose it's alright, now that you are here. You can spend time with those you lost -- and even if I wasn't in your world, I'm here for you, too!"

"Ah... Thanks, Evanee."

"If you don't mind me asking, was I a Swan Warrior, too?" Autor asked.

"Yes."

Evanee rolled her eyes. "Oh, great."

"Did I have a special power of some sort?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Yours, Autor, was magical data gathering. Although you were the weakest, you were pretty formidable because of your intel. We almost organized a kidnapping mission to get rid of you. Before I betrayed my kind, I mean." He chuckled.

"Yet, in the end, you seem to recall those you knew with such fondness," Mytho said, looking at Dr. Crou with concern in his eyes. "Seeing us with the faces of those you lost must not have been easy for you."

"Ah yes... We had been in multiple life or death situations," Dr. Crou replied. "Siegfried, your sacrifice with Rue was devastating, to say the least."

Almost despite herself, Rue's hand shot over to Mytho's and she held it tight, as if she were suddenly afraid he might disappear in front of them. Fakir sat there silently, unsure what to make of all of this.

The clock struck on the hour, and Evanee stood up. "I'm sorry to be leaving at such a vulnerable time, but I need to get going."

Dr. Crou coughed. "Quite right. Sorry to bring down the livelier atmosphere of earlier."

She gathered her things and excused herself, thanking the group one last time. After a few moments, Noah stepped out as well, determined to catch up with Evanee.

Gripping Ahiru's hand, Fakir stood up, ready to leave as well. "Come on, Ahiru. Let's go."

"Ah, okay." Ahiru first walked over to Dr. Crou, giving him a quick hug, which surprised him. "Don't worry. We can come again and chat sometime. We can be friends again!"

"Ahiru..." Fakir said, waiting for her at the door.

"Coming!" Ahiru called out. "See ya later, Dr. Crou!"

"...Right, see you, Ahiru," Dr. Crou said.

Mytho held Rue's hand in return comfortingly and turned to Dr. Crou as the two of them stood up to leave. "I thank you for telling us your story. Let us meet again soon, when we are in a better state to converse more at length."

"Yes, your Majesty," he said, taking a deep bow.

Mytho nodded back at him with a somewhat sad smile and then walked with Rue to the exit.

"I can't believe I have magic data gathering... Is that even useful?" Autor asked. "Ugh, why do I always get the short end of the stick?"

"Well, it's actually similar to my current ability, but with more precision. Don't fret about that part, you were a great warrior," Dr. Crou said, playfully punching his arm.

"Well, I have more questions about your world to ask you later, if you will let me. This will be great for my research!" Autor said.

"Suit yourself."

With that, Autor left, mumbling to himself about alternate universes and the singularity theory.

As everyone left the café, Dr. Crou was shocked to have met everyone all at once, even telling them the whole story. He took a good look around and sighed. There was a lot to clean up. Picking up a broom, he got back to work, with a little more cheer in his step.


	20. In Which Mytho Returns Marilee's Memories

Marilee left her last class of the day, smiling to herself. She was actually doing it: attending the academy, with actual friends, not a boy who lied about loving her.

Mytho exited the academy's ballet studio after practicing for the day. The previous day at the cafe had left him pensive, wondering about the memories the crow man had of him -- or someone like him. What was it like to see someone from a lifetime ago, as if none of it had ever happened...?

It was in this state of mind that almost casually, he came upon a startlingly familiar ashen-haired girl walking across the campus just a short distance from him. His eyes widened with shock. "What? It... it couldn't be...?"

Speechless at first, he approached the girl, and upon closer observation, realized she was unmistakable. "Sigyn... could it really be you? Have I finally found you again, after all this time...?" he said quietly.

Marilee was checking her agenda for any homework, letting out a caw like noise under her breath. There was a bit to catch up on. She closed her agenda book when she noticed someone being near her. Looking over, the ravenette noticed Mytho. She blinked twice before waving at him.

Mytho paused. "So... you still don't remember, it seems..." He trailed off hesitantly. It had been so long since he had seen her last, and thus he had no idea what her life had been like, up until that very moment. What should he say to her? What _could_ he say to her? "I... my name is Mytho," he says with a polite smile that yet seemed troubled. "Are you... have you been doing well?"

The girl tilted her head for a moment before smiling and nodded "Y-yes! I just started today, caw!" She then looked a little sheepish. "Sorry, that’s a tic I got... hey, are you okay?' Marilee asked as she noticed his look.

Though a little taken aback by the unusual verbal tic, he was much more concerned with what she had to say. Hearing her cheerful voice and seeing her bright smile, the trouble on his face softened to a gentle relief. "Worry not for me; I am greatly relieved to hear you are well."

Marilee nodded as the boy said he was fine.

However, though the relief remained on his face, sorrow seemed to seep into his expression. "Forgive me if this seems a strange question, but... have you ever felt that anything was missing from your past? A family you yearned for? Even if you couldn't remember it...?"

She suddenly froze when he asked her that question out of the blue. When she was younger, Marilee felt that so much. She wanted a family that loved her or paid attention to her. At times, she wished for someone else to be there and she imagined how life would be with older siblings. That he was asking her this question, though, seemed strange. “Wh-when I was younger, yes... why do you ask?"

At this, the sorrow seeping into his countenance poured forth into a melancholy, almost mournful expression. "I... fear I am to blame for your lonely childhood. It was the only way to save everyone, including you; so was what I thought..." he said, pausing for a moment, as if he was having increasing difficulty with his words. "...Yet even now, I wonder what it truly had cost you."

Marilee looked at him with utter confusion. She saw his expression change into one of sadness. She gently reached out and patted his hand before gripping it. "I'm not sure what you’re talking about, but it's fine. Sure, I dealt with bad luck. But it's fine now. No need to feel sad."

Mytho shook his head, the sorrow on his face unabated. "It was not mere misfortune. If it were not for me, you would still remember your family. You would still remember the home you had. You would still remember..." His voice nearly broke in the process, but feeling that he had to say it nonetheless, he said with a quiet but clear voice: "...You would remember being my dearest little sister."

Marilee stood there for a moment when Mytho said this. She swore that her father and stepmother were all she knew. Her mother had left, yet.... when he said that she was his little sister....

Any rational person would be walking away. Yet, Marilee stood there. She slowly gripped both his hands and started to massage one of them with her thumb, as if trying to calm him. It was one of the things she would do without thinking but had no memory of why.

Mytho sensed his sister's almost unconscious urge to comfort him, yet if anything he felt more conflicted. "...I don't want to burden you with bygone days that may only bring you grief. If you are happy with your life right now, then there is no need to taint that happiness with anguish of the past."

Marilee frowned for a moment. "But then, I won't remember the good times from this past... sometimes, you need to remember the bad so you can cherish the good."

Mytho looked at her with gentle eyes, touching her shoulder softly. "Do you feel, then... that those cherished times will be worth all the pain those memories might bring with them?"

Marilee smiled and nodded her head. “Yep, caw! Ack! S-Sorry,” she said apologetically. She really needed to control that tic.

Mytho closed his eyes, as if praying to himself silently. "If that is so... then, I shall return to you that which I locked away. I hope, that when you awaken... your happy memories will comfort you through the painful ones."

Marilee wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but with those words, Mytho placed a hand softly on Marilee's head. Beneath his hand, the surface glowed for a few moments, and then Marilee saw a brief flash of light, as if something were quietly breaking free. Mytho held the girl gently as her consciousness faded.

There was a memory that played, one where she was younger. It was strange to see herself as a little girl. She was following Mytho around, clinging onto his cape and giggling. When she started to black out, she was able to say “Big... Brother...” before she fell into sleep's embrace.

Mytho drew the sleeping girl into his arms with great care, and with a loving glance at her fond expression, brought her to a quiet room inside the academy where she could awaken in peace and safety.


	21. In Which Lytha Secretly Returns and Meets Noah

In the middle of the night, a hooded figure entered the town.

"Finally, I'm back. I just hope the rumors haven't spread this far..."

~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Noah strolled through the town, peeking into shops and stores here and there. Then he spotted a young woman walking around, with a cloak covering her from head to toe.

"Well, you certainly don't look suspicious," Noah noted, approaching the figure.

Lytha jumped in shock. "AH!!" She turned around. "Can I help you?"

"Well, you can tell me what you are doing sneaking around town... whoever you are," Noah said.

"I'm... umm..."

Lytha ran off to the cafe, leaving Noah behind.

He grinned -- he did love chasing after suspicious people.

After three blocks, he was able to catch up with her, slowing down slightly to match her pace. "What's with the rush? I have all the time in the world to make sure you aren't here to hurt anyone."

Lytha entered the cafe and quickly closed the door behind her, right in Noah's face. "God, I hate this."

Noah's eyes watered as the door hit his nose, at which time he waited a few moments before entering in after her. "Seriously, lady, you got some issues."

" _You_ have issues! Why are you following me?!"

"Because you are sneaking around an innocent town looking like you are about to go murder someone! Are you telling me that wearing the cloak isn't suspicious? I can't even see your face!"

"........" Lytha said to herself that the cafe was safe enough."I apologize for your nose," Lytha said, taking out a handkerchief and handing it to Noah before removing her hood. "Please call me Lytha."

Noah pressed the handkerchief to his nose. "Lytha... Have we met before? You look oddly familiar."

"Please let me treat you to coffee as an apology," Lytha said, sitting down at one of the tables.

"Of course, of course... but where have I seen you before?" Noah asked, sitting down across from her.

"Maybe you're mistaking me for someone?" Lytha said. "Well, it's fair enough to say I don't even know you."

"What can I say? I have a memorable face," Noah remarked.

"Well, there is one thing I've noticed, is that you like to tease," Lytha said, taking a seat by the window.

"What were you doing in that cloak, anyway? Your face certainly is too pretty to hide."

"...I have my reasons."

"Ever so secretive."

"And besides, I just met you; I can't possibly tell you here when I don't even know you."

"Well, I'm Noah, and I'm new in town," he said, extending his hand across the table.

Lytha shook his hand. "I'm Lytha, a resident in this town."

"Well, thank you for your amicable attitude. Not many other people have met me with the same regard."

Apollo Bare walked up to the two and took their orders.

"Oh! Mr. Bare, is Dr. Crou working today?" Noah asked.

"Yes, he will be in later." Apollo Bare then turned to Lytha. "Welcome back, Miss Lytha. The twins have been visiting the store frequently since you have been gone."

"It is nice to be back. I hope the twins haven't given you too much trouble," Lytha said.

"The twins? The lil ones?" Noah asked. "Cute, always talking in unison? They yours?"

"That's right, they are my little brother and sister."

"That's where I know you from! They showed me a picture of you."

Apollo Bare excused himself and went to the back for their orders.

Lytha blushed a deep red. "You don't mean, the picture of me in the gown -- they showed you that one?! Wait, I only sent the picture to Evanee, so how did the twins and you manage to see it?"

"Ohh, Evanee, yes, yes, of course, I was there when she opened it."

Lytha blushed red again and looked down. "I was hoping no one else saw that; I'm so embarrassed."

"The twins were quite adamant about you and your friend being pretty. They were right, but hey, no judgment from me."

"Ahem, anyways, seeing as how you are friends with Evanee, I know I can trust you," Lytha said.

"Uhhhhh, about that... I wouldn't call us friends," Noah replied.

"Hmmm, let me guess -- you are a flirt and Evanee doesn't like you because of that."

"..."

Lytha giggled. "Right on the dot, aren't I?"

Noah clicked his tongue. "Yep."

Lytha continued to giggle.

"Okay, okay, I get it. But I really can't help it."

Lytha stopped giggling. "And why is that?"

"Well, normally, I flirt and stop if they roll their eyes, but something about her..."

"Interested in her~?"

"Please don't. Please don't tell her. I'm sure it'll pass as soon as it came," Noah said.

"Feelings like that don't go away easily," Lytha said.

"I'm sure they will in time. I can't imagine settling down."

Lytha giggled. "Oh, but I can."

"... How about your love life, let's talk about that."

"Sorryyyyy, but I have no love life," Lytha said. "Oh look, Mr. Bare is back with our drinks."

"Uh-uh, that look says otherwise; you have something going on," Noah remarked.

"Hmmmm, whatever could you mean, Noah~?"

"So if there _is_ nothing, you wouldn't mind going on a date with me?"

"Sure, why not?"

"... I wasn't expecting that to work."

At that moment, Odin walked into the cafe with some anticipation, as if he was hoping to see someone -- when he looked around the room, he didn't seem to see who he was looking for, and he slouched a bit in disappointment. However, then his eyes caught on someone else familiar. "Hey, wait -- Lytha? Is that you?"

Lytha turned to him. "...Been a while, Odin," Lytha smiled.

Odin beamed with gusto as he walked toward her. "So, am I right in supposing you got done what you wanted to do?"

"Yep."

"Oh, what a handsome young man... I'm Noah," he said, extending his hand.

Odin turned to Noah and stared at his outstretched hand with bafflement, as if not sure what he meant. "Uh... are you talking to me?"

"Yes, of course."

Odin blinked, looking up at him with bemusement. "Oh, uh... okay." _No need for me to judge what some humans find appealing, after all..._

He stuck out his own hand and shook Noah's, seemingly out of politeness. "Well met, Mr. Noah. Are you Lytha's new friend or something? Never seen you before, even though I've seen Lytha around a lot of times."

"New friend?" Noah asked. "Yes, I am, and apparently we are going on a date."

Odin furrowed a brow at him dubiously. " 'Apparently'? How does a human go on a date with someone by accident?"

"Now Odin, don't be mean," Lytha said. "Also, I hope the twins haven't been giving you too much trouble."

"Huh? Yeah, your brother and sister have been fine; they can take care of themselves pretty well, to be truthful," he says to Lytha.

"I thought she might have a hidden love life, and so I tested her. Let's just say I was wrong," Noah said.

Odin turned to Noah with an unimpressed look. "Oh, so that's what all this is about, then? Lovey-dovey mushy stuff? Ugh; forget I asked."

Noah gave a little chuckle. Lytha giggled and pat at a seat beside her, signaling Odin to sit down.

Odin glanced between the two of them very doubtfully, clearly unsure if he wanted to take the invitation or not. But he sighed, and took the seat Lytha offered, telling himself that if things got too gross, he'd just leave them to do whatever they wanted to do on their own.

"Go ahead and order anything, my treat," Lytha said.

Clearly Odin is very bribeable with food, as his face perked up immediately at the mention of a free meal, and he got much more comfortable in his seat. "Really? Okay, then! I want that, uh.... 'steak tartar' or, uh... whatever it's called. Dr. Crou got me some here last time, and I really liked it."

"...Who is this Dr. Crou you guys have been mentioning?" Lytha asked.

"Hmm? Oh, he's a crow who started working at this cafe," Odin replied. "I met him the other day when he was taking a break. I was kinda hoping he'd be here today, but I guess he isn't here right now," he admitted, a little put out.

"I'm sure he will be here soon, I'm also hoping for Evanee to show up," Lytha said.

Noah perked up at the mention of her name and looked around, but slouched when he didn't see her.

Lytha saw Noah react to Evanee's name. "I see that the lil prince is hoping for his princess to arrive."

"I'm not--it isn't--I'm... Never mind."

Lytha giggled. "I will take a rain check on the date for another time," Lytha said. "But for now, let's wait for more people to arrive; it has been a while since I last saw anyone else."

"Do you know if she’s working today?" Noah asked.

"Hmmm, nope," Lytha said. "But I have a feeling she will come. After all... I still haven't apologized to her properly."

"I'm sure she will," Noah said.

"So, Odin, how have you been these past two weeks I was gone?" Lytha asked him.

Odin hesitated. The things Autor had told him hadn't truly left his mind since that day, even though he tried hard to push them to the back of his mind. But that, and the issue of the increasingly-not-secretly-hidden heart, had tugged at his mind incessantly. Yet, not knowing exactly how to really express his doubts, he merely responded with a half-hearted "...Fine, I guess."

Lytha poked Odin's forehead. "I know that look, it's a look when someone has something on their mind."

Odin pursed his lips. "Yeah, but... it's not something you have to worry about. It only affects me, so you don't need to be involved."

Lytha sighed.

Just as Odin finished his sentence, Noah got up. "Are you all okay with me going and finding Evanee? It seems like you two have some personal things to speak about."

"...If it's alright with you, can I follow as well? I have a lot to talk to Evanee about."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but she told me not to tell anyone where she is staying."

"...I see," Lytha said. "Go ahead, then."

Odin paused. "...Wish I could tell you more about how that Evanee's doing, but she hasn't been very forthcoming with me, either," he said to Lytha. "Sorry."

Lytha looked at her coffee with sad eyes. "It's okay... I'm... okay." She turned to Noah. "Please tell Evanee I will be here."

After Noah left, Lytha turned back to Odin. "So Odin... tell me, what do you know about marriage? And also, what would you think if I got married?"

Surprisingly, Odin seemed a little shy at the topic. "Umm... well, I dunno," he said a little hesitantly. "I mean, I'm just a fledgling -- I wouldn't know anything about that yet."

"My~ Do you have a crush on someone lil Odin~?" Lytha asked. "My lil Odin is growing up!"

Odin pouted awkwardly. "Well, I mean, it's not a _crush_ , but..." He trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence.

Suddenly Noah opened the door as Evanee stepped through. He put his hand on her back to guide her in, but she sneered and kept walking, now a little faster.

Lytha turned to see Evanee walk in, and Lytha quickly looked out the window with her hood over her head.

"Um, excuse me, is that any way to treat your best friend?" Evanee shoved her face between Lytha and the window, forcing her girl to look at her.

Relieved to be off the topic, Odin looked at Evanee. "Y'know, Lytha was asking about you just now. You oughta tell her how you've been; she was worried."

"Ermm... hi?" Lytha said, smiling, and again pulling the hood down.

Evanee tackled her with a hug. "Odin is right... I’ve been fine. I was never really mad, I just needed you to think I was, so that you'd come back alive."

"Dang, I wish you'd hug me like that," Noah remarked. Evanee gave him a heavy glare.

Lytha hugged Evanee back. "Sorry about that, I hope the twins haven't been too much trouble."

"You always apologize for those two, but you never need to. They are just fine."

"That's good." Lytha stuck her tongue out at Noah behind Evanee's back.

Noah mimicked being shot in the heart, putting his hand on his chest.

Lytha stopped hugging Evanee and motioned for her to seat down.

Evanee sat down next to her, and Noah went around the table, resuming his spot across Lytha. "Oh, right, you two just met. He's been bothering me for a week now. Please save me," Evanee sighed and placed some of her things on the table.

Lytha smirked a cat face at Noah. "I don't know, Evanee. I think you two make a great couple."

Odin rolled his eyes. "Not this stuff again..."

Evanee stared at her best friend. "Uh yeah, I’m with Odin on this. Not a chance. He's just -- a complete flirt, and probably a heartbreaker too."

"I'm right here you know. And you're the one breaking hearts," Noah said.

Evanee turned toward Odin, rolling her eyes. "Please save me."

Upon hearing the term "breaking hearts", he froze for a moment, as it reminded him of something a little too close to home.

"Anyways...!" Lytha pulled her hood over her head again and looked down as two people entered the cafe. "Shhhh, guys if anyone asks if you've seen an orange-red haired girl, say you don't know," Lytha said, panicking.

Noah frowned. "Yeah, why are you so secretive, anyway? Did something happen when you were gone? Evanee filled me in on the way here."

"Well, I...!"

Suddenly the two people walked up to Lytha's table.

"...This better not have to do with you," Evanee said to Noah through gritted teeth.

"Sorry to bother you, but have you seen a girl with orange-red hair?" one of them asked.

“Uhhhh, nope. Though, I did see one down at the church before I came here," Noah said convincingly, smiling with confidence.

Odin's internal red flags popped up upon seeing these newcomers, so he stayed quiet and did his best to remember not to refer to Lytha as such.

"Sorry to bother you, miss, but can I ask if you could let me see your face?"

"Sir," Evanee stood up.

Lytha held out her hand to stop Evanee. "Sure," Lytha muttered something and removed the hood to reveal she had black hair and red eyes.

"You may not," Noah said. "How dare you ask such a rude request. This young lady is grieving the loss of her--WHAT THE HELL?"

Both of the new arrivals nodded, thanking the people at the table, and left the cafe.

"Phew," Lytha said.

"What the hell is that?!" Evanee exclaimed.

Odin stared at her with curious puzzlement. "So... when did this happen? Is it an enchantment, or did you just use human dyes on your hair? Doesn't explain your eyes, though..."

"Ummmm, a spell someone taught me when I was on that journey," Lytha muttered the spell again to return her original hair and eye color. She saw the shocked faces on Noah and Evanee and waved a hand in front of them. "Hello, earth to both of you?"

Odin nodded with mild approval. "Ooh, that sounds convenient for disguising." He thought for a moment, then smirked. "Heh, it'd be fun to learn a spell to change my feathers to some other wild color. Imagine me going around in plumage of blazing red!"

"I will teach you the spell sometime, Odin," Lytha said.

Noah smiled. "I've obtained a few spellbooks that speak of enchantments like that, but all of them have said you need someone with intense abilities to teach you."

Odin looked at Noah evenly. "I'm sure it won't be a problem for me. I may not be as powerful as a wizard or anything right now, but I'm no stranger to magic. I pick up on it quickly."

"That’s complete crap, Noah -- where in the world would you find spellbooks?" Evanee scoffed.

Noah just shrugged and answered Odin instead. "You'll probably be able to. Especially since Lytha was taught in person.”

"Anyways, I'm happy both of them are gone," Lytha said.

"Are they your enemies, Lytha?" Odin asked seriously.

Evanee sighed, looking at Lytha. "Time for you to explain, then."

"Ummm, where do I begin?" Lytha said. "Apparently, I had a marriage agreement with the prince of Eden."

"You have a WHAT?" Evanee rattled the table.

"I had a marriage agreement with the prince of Eden," Lytha said. "Also, Evanee calm down. People are looking. Besides, I don't want to marry just because of a marriage agreement. That's why I ran away."

"'Had'?" Noah asked.

"Umm, apparently, my real name is Lytha Rose."

"And that means...?" Evanee asked.

"The Rose family is a noble family," Lytha added.

"How did your dad not know this?" Evanee asked in disbelief.

"My dad knew; he just kept it a secret to keep me safe," Lytha said. "So, the king of Eden and the Rose family had made an agreement that their grandchild and the prince of Eden would be wed when they turned 18 and 19, respectively."

Lytha began shaking. "My mom, she... she left us and married another noble family. I asked her if she wanted to come back to us, but she said 'I'm happy in this family, I don't remember having a daughter like you'. I also found out that the Rose family did a lot of bad things like bribery, murder, and kidnapping. When I went to confront my family, I was... locked up. I was dragged to the castle, and was told I was going to be the bride of Prince Alex of Eden."

Lytha took a sip of her coffee to calm down. "I managed to run away, but apparently the Eden royal family decided to send out an edict to find me no matter what... and here we are."

Odin sat there, blinking incredulously. "...That's quite a lot, but in short, a lot happened to you out there, and also your family is a piece of work," he said. "What I'm worried about is: is it really over, or not? If they're going to follow you here, then what should we do about it?"

"The problem is my family," Lytha replied. 'I'm currently staying at an inn until the people looking for me are gone, but I'm not sure how long that will last."

Just then, the door opened, and a tall crow-faced man walked into the cafe. He stopped short and noticed a familiar young crow sitting with a group of kids. "Oh! Fledgling, it's good to see you here! Were you having a chat with your friends?" Lytha pulled her hood over her head.

Odin glanced at the person entering the cafe, and the joyful smile on his face couldn't have been wider when he recognized who it was. "Oh, Dr. Crou! I was wondering when you'd be around next," he said, standing up from his chair eagerly. "Yeah, one of my friends just came back from their trip out of town, and she was telling us about what happened. And it seems like... it was a lot to take in," he added, glancing at the rest of the quiet table.

Dr. Crou noticed the silent Evanee and Noah. Strange, usually they were much livelier. He looked over at the new girl and noticed that she had put up magic around her... and also, something was altered with her memories. "Huh, that must have been quite a tale."

He walked over to their table. "Hello there, miss, the name's Dr. Crou." He lowered himself to her eye level and held out a hand for her to shake.

Lytha, with the hood still covering her head, extended her hand and shook hands with Dr. Crou. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Crou; call me Lytha."

"Well, nice to meet you too, Lytha," Dr. Crou said.

As he touched her hand, he stopped for a moment as he recognized the magic signature that was wrapped around her memories...

"If you will excuse me, I need to get ready for work. I'll attend to you guys shortly," he said as he pulled back.

Lytha looked confused. "Was I too rude?"

Odin frowned with puzzlement at Dr. Crou's retreating back. "No, I don't think so..." he said. "I think something bothered him just now, but I have no idea what..."

"I see..."

Noah had simply stayed silent in response to Evanee's silence, he didn't feel it was okay to speak, especially since he had just met Lytha. But after a while, he became concerned. "Evanee, you okay?"

"Evanee?" Lytha asked.

She shook her head. "Ah, yes, I'm fine. Everything in here is just going a little crazy," she tapped her head.

"...I'm sorry," Lytha said.

Evanee perked up. "Oh no, not like that. It's all the prophecy things."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Prophecy?" He had asked about it before, but she wouldn't talk about exactly what it was.

Lytha kept muttering to herself that this was her fault.

Evanee sighed. "I suppose now is the time to tell you all. I've spent the last two weeks experimenting, remembering, and altering the prophecies I've been writing in the journal."

"You've been writing?! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Lytha was panicking.

Dr. Crou stepped out of the back room, now in uniform. He walked over to their table and pulled out a pen and memo. "Alright, did you guys want anything to drink, or order food?"

Lytha stopped panicking. "Oh, ahem... I would like another cinnamon coffee and a cheesecake," she said. "How about you, Odin?"

"Oh, that's right!" Odin exclaimed, remembering. "Dr. Crou, I want another one of that thing you let me have the other day -- it was called, uh, 'steak tartar' or something, I forget..." he trailed off, a little embarrassed at his lack of eloquence.

"The steak tartare? Hehe, not a problem. Glad to know you have a refined taste," he said as he scribbled down the order.

"Oh, by the way, can I have a quick word with you, Odin?" he asked, walking over to the fledgling, lowering himself to whisper to him.

"Huh?" Odin blinked. "Oh, yeah, sure," he said, lowering his voice. "What's the matter?"

"Is she that human you said made the deal with Drosselmeyer?"

"You mean...?" Odin's eyes flitted toward the behooded Lytha sitting not too far away. "Yeah, that's her. It's why leaving town was such a big deal for her, because she thought she couldn't leave before."

"Ohhh, that makes so much more sense now," he whispered to himself, stroking the bottom of his beak. "Yeah, when I shook her hand, I sensed Drosselmeyer's magic around her memories. Was pretty shocked."

Odin's eyes widened a bit. "You can detect people's magic? Like, knowing whose it is just by looking?"

"Hehe, I mentioned I noticed your magic when I first met you. You didn't say anything then."

Odin tilted his head. "Well, yeah, I know you can detect magic and all -- mine is obviously mine. But, you can tell who cast that spell without having seen them at all. Don't hear about being able to do that every day."

"Not just that, but this world is different, so it's altering my senses a bit. Usually I can identify magic just by looking at them, but I'm retraining myself right now."

Lytha noticed Odin and Dr. Crou talking. "Is something wrong, Odin?"

"What? Uh," Odin looked a little flustered, wondering if he had been talking too loud. "No, nothing's wrong. Just talking about something... interesting with Dr. Crou."

"I was asking him about magic and how I wanted to teach him later today," Dr. Crou answered nonchalantly.

"...Yeah, basically," Odin added, hiding his relief at the narrow save.

Lytha leaned in closer to Dr. Crou's face. "You have a interesting mask."

"Oh, this isn't a mask. It's actually my face, haha."

"...May I touch? ...I MEAN NOT IN A WEIRD WAY I JUST LOVECROWSYOUSEEANDYOUSEEMLIKEONE--" Lytha blushed deep red at what she said.

"Huh, erm? I'm sorry, but I honestly couldn't hear that?" Dr. Crou asked.

Odin stopped for a moment. Then, he burst out laughing, pointing at Lytha. "Do you know how silly you sound?! Hahahahaha!!"

"...Shut up, Odin," Lytha said, still red. "Forget I said anything!"

Dr. Crou shrugged; it must not have been that important, although she was shouting really fast and loud.

"Though I suppose if Odin can trust you, I can, too," Lytha removed her hood. "Sorry about the hood."

"Not a problem. The cafe doesn't have a 'No Hood' policy," he remarked. "But to come to the conclusion to trust me because Odin trusts me... you must be a pretty trusting person," Dr. Crou innocently commented as he observed her.

Odin paused, thinking for a moment. "...Heeeey, what's that supposed to mean?" he asked Dr. Crou with a pout.

This time it was Lytha's turn to laugh at Odin. "Awww, cute lil Odin is mad~"

"I'm not saying anything about _you_ , Odin," Dr. Crou teased. He turned his attention back to Lytha. "But rather, you said because another person trusts someone, that you will trust them... you should be careful and try to discern if someone is actually trustworthy based on your own judgment."

Lytha smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Crou, I will take that to heart. But then again, I can trust Odin, so for Odin to trust you means that you're a trustworthy person."

Then, Lytha looked out the window and noticed that the people from before were outside again, so she muttered her disguise spell once more. "I honestly think I should stay like this for a while."

Dr. Crou took note of the spell, which he had not heard before, and saw the girl change hair and eye color. "So, I assume you are running from something?"

"Yes, she is," Evanee replied for her. "Something she probably shouldn't have to run from in the first place, but it's not like she knew."

"Geez, Evanee, you make it sound like I'm a criminal," Lytha said.

Evanee shrugged. "It's the drama in me. Are you done panicking about that?"

"Yes."

"I could take the rest of your orders now," Dr. Crou said.

Noah beamed. "Nutmeg mocha, please!"

"I'm good for now. I'm not super hungry," Evanee said.

"How about some chamomile tea, then, Evanee?" Dr. Crou suggested. "To calm the nerves."

"Ah, yes, please. Thank you, Korvus. And then after, would you like to sit with us?"

"Hey, Odin, should I go for silver hair and red eyes instead?" Lytha asked.

Odin grinned. "I'd otherwise say go for it, but do you think those people chasing you might be suspicious if they see the same you with the same clothing but different hair color? I dunno how long it'll fool them, but might as well make it go as long as you can."

"Oh, that's right, the clothes," Lytha said. "Also yes, please sit with us, Dr. Crou."

"Perhaps for a short while, then," Dr. Crou said, taking a seat next to Odin.

"As soon as everyone is settled, I'll try to explain how I may be able to help you, Lytha," Evanee said.

"Hold on... if I remember correctly, there was a spell... ah, I remember now," Lytha said. She muttered a spell and her clothes changed to normal village clothes. "Sadly, I only know these two spells to change appearances."

Noah's eyes sparkled. "Someday, you will have to tell me about who taught you these."

Dr. Crou leaned in closer to Odin, whispering, "If Lytha could turn into a crow, she wouldn't have to worry so much about the disguises."

"Alas," Odin whispered back in a mock-dramatic tone. "She is but a mere human. Plus, it seems like humans in this world really don't have as much magic as I'm used to," he added more practically.

"Wow, you really did live in a world that was just swimming in magic, weren't you?" Dr. Crou said, sounding pretty impressed.

Odin tilted his head. "I guess I never thought of it that way, but now that I'm hearing about these worlds with so little of it, it seems to be so." He looked pensive. "I wonder... if the fact that my world was a story has anything to do with it."

"Hmm," Dr. Crou thought about it for a moment, "if it was, then that story was meant to be filled with magic. It could have very easily been a story that didn't have magic, but it did, and lots of it. So consider yourself lucky, fledgling. Maybe after a few lessons with me, you will be a master in it."

Odin grinned with pride. "Yeah -- you bet I could! Just you wait and see!"

If Dr. Crou could grin, he would be beaming at Odin. "Yup, that's the spirit!"

"And on that note, I've been dying to talk about the magical things I have learned these past weeks when I've had time to look into them," Evanee said.

"Oooh, do tell," Lytha said.

"Okay." Evanee slammed her journal on the table. "For a while now, I've been filling this up with prophecies. I wasn't sure if they were prophecies until Drossy gave us a visit and told me that my great-great-whatever was actually Florestan Ernst. Who I looked into.

"Apparently, he wrote a story about a girl who would prick her finger on a spinning wheel on her birthday and die. Turns out... it wasn't a story he made up. It was a prophecy, one that ended up coming true -- as his daughter, Aurora, tried to spin stories. She drew her own blood in order to make them come true, and she began to bleed out one day, so Florestan altered the prophecy, instead sending her into a coma."

"Why suddenly the story about Aurora?" Lytha asked. Dr. Crou quietly excused himself to bring out everyone's orders.

"Because Aurora is my great-great-whatev-grandma. But that's not the point. The point is, Florestan, whose spinning powers were only supposed to be prophecy, was able to bend the fate of the prophecy at his will. It got me thinking about my own Spinning powers. Which of course, is dangerous, but I have to figure them out, ya know?" she said. "Remember how I thought I imagined this place up?"

"Yeah," Lytha said.

"I talked to Mr. Bare a while back. Turns out, he got this lot, but wasn't fully sure what to do with it until an idea came to his head... the same night that I wrote about this place. It was the same thing with that couple I saw reenacting my lil romance story. I talked to them and apparently, both of them already liked each other, but one of them thought of an idea of how to confess... the same idea as in my story," Evanee said. "What if my powers to Spin can only happen if an idea, or start, is already there? It's as if I can give a spark to what may be set up to happen, as long as the circumstances are correct?"

Lytha nodded her head.

"That's why getting into the academy didn't work. I didn't have the correct variables set up. Basically, what I'm saying is, the prophecies I write in this book when I go all crazy, I can alter them. The ultimate goal or outcome stays the same, but I can shift it so that a bad ending will later turn to a good one, or a loss is accompanied by something to gain. It's a trial-and-error kind of process, but I think it can help you with your fate, Lytha."

Noah's current inner thoughts were: _Dang, she's adorable when she talks passionately about things. it makes me happ--Stop, Noah. Focus_ _._

"I see," Lytha said.

Suddenly the door opened, and a young man with royal clothing walked in. Lytha turned to see the young man, and quickly looked out the window.

"Well f***, that's gotta be him," Noah remarked.

Dr. Crou came in with everyone's orders. When he was done setting everything down, he noticed the young man coming in. He made his way towards the new guest. "Welcome, sir. Please, how may I help you?"

"I am looking for a maiden with orange-red hair and green eyes," the royal youth replied.

"Hmm, orange-red hair and green eyes? I'm sorry, I haven't seen anybody by that description."

Noah stood up. If Crou failed, it was showtime for him.

Dr. Crou was thinking, _Kid, if your time traveling messes up, I swear-_ _-_

Prince Alex noticed Lytha and walked up to her. "I apologize, but the maiden with raven hair, may I know your name?"

Lytha was sweating buckets.

"Whoa. Whoa, dude, why are you talking to my girlfriend?!" Noah exclaimed.

Lytha turned to Noah, mouthing to him, _What are you doing?!_

"Listen, buddy. You wanna talk to Alexandria, you are gonna have to go through me. She's the love of my life, man. And no fancy lil preppy guy like you is gonna take her away, ya hear?"

Lytha facepalmed.

"I apologize for that, sir, I shall now take my leave, but I must announce -- should anyone see a maiden with orange-red hair with green eyes, bring her to me immediately and you shall be rewarded."

With that, Prince Alex left the cafe. Dr. Crou had been ready to disarm his gloves, but was relieved he didn't need to resort to that.

"Oh, thank God that worked," Noah said as he sat down with relief.

"Quick thinking there, Noah," Dr. Crou said.

"Thank you, Doctor."

"What was that about?!" Lytha exclaimed.

Noah grinned. "Whatever do you mean, 'what was that about'? I saved you, didn't I? Plus, that basically makes up for the date you said you'd go on with me."

"Date? What date?" Evanee asked.

"I guess you are right," Lytha said with a sigh. Then Lytha whispered to her, "You dont happen to have a crush on him, do you, Evanee~?"

Evanee froze, her face turning a little pink as her cheeks tightened. "NOPE. I'm just wondering why YOU would go on a date with HIM," she whispered forcefully.

Lytha started laughing. "Hahahahahahahah!"

Apollo Bare called Dr. Crou into the kitchen to help with the meal preparations, causing Dr. Crou to excuse himself. He waved to Odin just before he left, and Odin waved back cheerfully.

"Well, are ya gonna tell me?" Evanee asked Lytha again.

"Ask him," Lytha pointed at Noah, who was still laughing at Evanee's reaction.

"It, uh, it wasn't intentional, I was just trying to, uh, ya know. Tease her about her love life, and it just. It was a joke, it didn't mean anything. I think," Noah stammered.

"Okay, but knowing you, it definitely was intentional, you giant flirt. You would drop to your knees in happiness if a girl finally said yes to you," Evanee said.

"Do invite me to the wedding in the future," Lytha said.

Evanee turned back to Lytha. "What wedding?"

Lytha whistled.

Evanee brushed it off, rolling her eyes. "Okay, I need to go talk to your family. They need to know you are in town, and the twins need to know not to tackle you before it's too late. I'm sure they'll understand. In the meantime," she looked over at Noah, "Take her to the hut; she can stay with us until things die down."

"...Yeah, about that... you see, I sent them a letter saying I will be gone for a while."

Evanee sighed. "You and I both know the moment the twins see you with or without color change, they'll expose you. They need to know unless they want to blow your cover. Keep up the act and the hairstyle. If they've already come in here twice, they will no doubt go around knocking on every door. You two need to stay a couple in the meantime to get them off your tail."

"I thought you didn't want me telling anyone where the house was. You said it was really important," Noah said.

"I said that because I needed to focus on my studies, and I didn't want you bringing girls into my home at midnight for snuggles and flirts," Evanee said.

"Can I not have Autor as my boyfriend instead?" Lytha asked.

"Consistency, Lytha. Consistency," Evanee remarked.

"Oh boo," Lytha said. "I'm stuck with a flirt as my boyfriend."

"You aren't telling me you have a _crush_ on Autor, are you?" Evanee asked.

"Nope."

"Thank goodness. Anyway, I'll rendezvous back with you two at the house. If they ask about an Evanee owning it, tell them I'm Noah's sister."

"Sure," Lytha said.

With that, they prepared to leave for Evanee's house.


	22. In Which Lytha and Noah Hide Out with Evanee

After they had finished their meal at the cafe, Odin took his leave of them to return home for the day, and Lytha and Noah leisurely made their way to Evanee's home. After wandering around the school and in town, they headed for her house, which was a small cabin within the woods, only a hundred meters or so from the lake outside town. Its structure was that of a small Victorian home, much to Noah's delight.

After Lytha and Noah stepped up to the front of the house, suddenly the door burst open. "Where the **hell** have you been?! It shouldn't have taken you this long to get here!"

"We just took a few detours on the way..." Lytha said.

Evanee looked around. "Both of you inside, now. We need to lay down some rules."

"Yes, mom." Lytha entered the house. "So what are the rules?"

"First off. No going to the academy, or your house. Not until the prince and his people leave."

"Not even my house?! Why?"

"They are watching your house. When I went there, I saw two of them out of the corner of my eye," Evanee said. "I pretended I was soliciting and asking for donations to save the ducks. Your family knows the situation now, and I talked to the twins about sneaking over here every once and a while. I told them what to look out for to make sure they weren't followed."

"Damn it," Lytha clenched her fist.

"Second. Keep your disguise on at all times. They are looking for a redhead, so let's not give them one. In addition, people you know will tell the prince immediately if they've seen you."

Lytha just nodded.

"Third. Because of that, don't talk to anyone you know except for Marilee, Odin, Sagi, Crou, Noah, Fakir, Ahiru, Lucy, Autor and I. If people you know recognize you through the disguise, word will get around and your disguise will be rendered useless."

"Anything else?"

"One more thing," Evanee said. "You and Noah are going to have to continue pretending to be a couple. And we all will have to refer to you as Alexandria, as that is what he called you at the cafe. If you go anywhere, it should be with him, or with me." She sighed. "I would be fine with you going off on your own if you were meeting up with someone else, but you are too much of a nervous wreck to keep up your cover story alone."

"Yes, mooommm," Lytha said. "So what now?"

"I'm going to see if I can convince the Prince to leave."

"Good luck doing that. I wonder how long that will take?" Lytha said. "You know, I could have stayed at an inn. I feel bad crashing at your place."

Evanee shrugged. "It isn't mine. I found it a couple years back, abandoned and all. So I cleaned it up. Worked at the furniture store in town refurbishing tables for people, and in return I'd get my own things to take here."

"...Maybe my dad should adopt you," Lytha said.

Evanee laughed. "That's sweet, Lytha, but I’ve been on my own for ten years. I know how to take care of myself, and I can't imagine living anywhere else."

Lytha sighed. "So, what's your plan to get rid of the prince and his party?"

Noah chuckled. "Yes, Evanee, what is your plan?"

She looked down. "Actually, I was kind of thinking... of trying to persuade him to look for romance over arrangement."

"I don't know... I don't think that will work," Lytha said. "For some reason, he seems to want me in particular."

"Then I'll have to convince him there are plenty of other fish in the sea," Evanee said.

"And how exactly are you going to do that? You are just as awkward as Lytha, if not more," Noah said.

"Hey, I'm not awkward," Lytha said.

"Says the one sweating buckets whenever the prince is mentioned," Noah remarked.

"And says the one who... never mind," Lytha trailed off.

Evanee raised her hand to stop Noah from responding. "I happen to be a very great actress, thankyouverymuch. If I can't convince him to look for another princess, I will at least be able to find out information."

"Besides, how are we going to approach him? He is a prince," Lytha added.

Evanee gave a wink. "I have my ways."

"Uh-huh," Lytha said.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Lytha looked startled. "Are you expecting visitors, Evanee?"

Evanee shot Lytha a glance and shook her head. “Keep yourself disguised; you and Noah go upstairs. There is a peephole in the third room. You can see into the entryway from there." She turned toward the front door. "Coming!" Evanee yelled.

Lytha and Noah went up to the 3rd room, and after closing the door, Lytha looked through the peephole.

Evanee approached the front door and opened it.

The twins tackled Evanee. "Sister Evanee!!"

"AH-GAH!"

Meanwhile, Noah turned to Lytha. "Are those two that friendly to everyone?"

Lytha giggled. "Not everyone, per se."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

"Were you two followed?" Evanee said before hugging the two.

The twins shook their heads.

Evanee smiled. "Are you sure? Did you check all the corners and common areas? And have you told anyone about your sister?"

"We said nothing and always made sure to check behind us."

"Good job, you two. Your sister is upstairs. I’ll stay down here and watch the door."

Lytha walked down as Noah followed her. "It's fine; I want to be down here, anyway."

The twins got off Evanee and tackled Lytha, making her fall backwards. "Sissy!!"

"Oof, ouch... yep, been a while since I felt this. Nice to see you two again," Lytha said, smiling and patting the twins' heads.

Evanee smiled at the scene before her ~~and Noah smiled at Evanee's smile~~.

"So how was Mommy?" the twins asked.

Lytha stopped smiling and looked away. "....."

"Sissy?"

Evanee stepped in. "Hey, kiddos, about your mother... there are a few things we need to talk about."

Lytha looked at the twins and smiled sadly. "Mommy is fine... she is happy with someone else."

"Someone else? What about Daddy? And us?"

Evanee said, "She still loves you, but it's been so long that she has started a new chapter of her life. One that prevents her from going back to previous ones."

"Oh, okay!" the twins said, smiling.

Lytha stood up and patted the twins' heads again. "Now, go home you two, and take care of Daddy for me, okay?"

The twins nodded and waved goodbye to the three.

"Thanks for that, Evanee..." Lytha said after the twins had left.

Evanee smiled. "Anytime."

Noah stepped up to the two. "You have quite the way with words," he said to Evanee.

"And you have your way with women," Lytha said, giggling.

Noah stared at her agape, speechless.

Lytha burst out laughing at Noah's expression. Evanee joined her, squealing with laughter. "She's not wrong!"

As the three settled down, Evanee stretched her legs. "I think it's about time I pay the prince a visit."

"Can I follow?" Lytha asked.

Evanee narrowed her eyes. "Only if you keep a very far distance. Keep a cloak on, and if anyone recognizes you, run like hell until you lose their trail. I won't be able to help you."

Noah chimed in, "But I, of course, will help."

"Fine... let's go." Lytha put on a cloak and made sure her hair and eye colors were different. "But Noah has to stay with you. We can't tell what the guards might do."

"Shouldn’t you two maintain your cover?" Evanee asked. "Plus, Noah was all defensive at the cafe, I doubt he'd be interested in letting him past the guards."

Noah rolled his eyes. "Ugh, I'll just stand in the distance and keep my eye on both of you."

"Fine by me," Evanee said.

The three left the cabin and began walking towards town.


	23. In Which Evanee and Friends Visit Prince Alex

After walking for a while, with Lytha humming to herself as she walked, they reached the inn where the prince was staying. From a distance, they could see the guards standing watch at the entrance of the inn.

"...Royalty," Lytha said.

Evanee sighed. "No kidding. Here we go."

She approached the guards with a small smile on her face. "Good afternoon!"

"Halt, state your business," the first guard said.

"My name is Evanee Englishvan, and I have been a residence in Kinkan since I was just a little girl. I believe I can help the Prince with his investigation."

After a few moments, another guard came out of the inn. "The prince will see you -- this way."

She smiled. "Thank you, sir, have a lovely day."

The guard brought Evanee to the prince's room and knocked on his door. "My prince, the lady with information on Lady Lytha is here."

"Come in."

Evanee stepped in and gave a little bow. "Good afternoon, your Highness, I do hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Not at all, please take a seat."

She sat down with a small smile.

The maid came in and poured tea for both the prince and Evanee, and then left.

"So, you told the guards you could help find my maiden."

"Yes, I believe I may be able to help. But I will need much more information in order to do so. You see, Kinkan is a vast but quiet town. Could you start off by telling me who you are looking for and why?"

"I'm looking for Lytha Rose, a beautiful maiden with orange-red hair and green eyes, who was my best friend when I was young, and is my future wife," he said. "I'm looking for her so that she may stand beside me as we rule my kingdom, and we made a promise to be together forever."

"That is... intense. When is the last time you saw her?"

"She suddenly when missing when I was eight years old; we promised to meet at our secret place, but she never showed up. That was when I heard she and her mother ran away."

"Why do you think she is in Kinkan?" Evanee asked.

"Her mother told me that she would be here."

"...And when did her mother say this?"

"When Lytha ran away again after she visited her mother."

Evanee was careful to choose her next words. "Your Highness, it’s been what, ten years? Why are you so insistent on finding her? What if she has moved on?"

"....I believe in our promise, and if she has indeed moved on, I will still court her -- for I only love her, and her alone."

"You love her? Tell me what her favorite thing to do is."

"She loves roses, playing tag, and getting into trouble. She also goes to town and plays with the younger kids."

"Does she love you?"

"That I don't know."

"And if you find her and she says she doesn't love you?"

"....I haven't thought about that," Alex answered.

"Would you... make her marry you even if she doesn't feel the same way?" Evanee asked.

"Yes, for I cannot see myself with another woman."

"Your Highness. What if that makes her unhappy?"

"What is there to be unhappy about marrying royalty?"

"I know you've lived your whole life like that. But some people would not wish to. They would instead wish to be free. To marry someone regardless of fortune, fame, or title. Forcing someone to marry you is like trapping a bird in a cage. How will it soar and sing if it is constricted?" Evanee asked So, I ask again. What if the marriage makes her unhappy?"

"I will not answer that question again. Now please leave, I have documents to sign." The prince clapped his hands and the guards came in to escort Evanee out.

"Your Highness. I am simply trying to council you. I will help in finding your maiden. But if you wish to refuse it, I fear not much help will come to you at all."

"Leave!"

The guards grabbed Evanee and proceeded to drag her out of the room. Evanee let the guards lead her out, yelling behind her, "If you truly love someone, you would consider their feelings instead of your own selfish ones. If you seek your princess, I will help, but only if you accept my terms and meet me at the cafe! Mark my words, your Highness, I am your only hope."

"........." Alex was silent as the guards closed the door behind them.

The guards dragged Evanee to the front gate of the inn and shoved her onto the ground.

"Evanee!" Noah yelled, running up and kneeling next to her.

Lytha ran up and stood behind Noah. "Are you okay, Evanee?!"

"I'm fine, thank you, Alexandria," Evanee replied, sitting down and blowing on the large bloody scrapes on her knees, legs and hands from sliding across the gravel.

Noah stood up, looking at the guards with quite a rage in his eyes. "You didn't have to be so rough!"

The guards said nothing, turning back toward the inn.

"Noah, stop it, they are not worth it," Evanee said.

Noah charged towards one of them, grabbing him by the collar and pushing him against the inn wall.

"NOAH!" Lytha and Evanee yelled. But Noah ignored them.

Lytha grabbed Noah's arm. "Noah, stop it!"

He shook her off and punched the guard in the jaw, which hurt his knuckles quite a bit.

"Noah! You idiot, stop!" Evanee stood up and tried to brush off the dirt from her dress, but her knees buckled, and she had to cry out. It was only then, when he turned around and saw her on the floor, that he let go of the guard.

Lytha noticed people looking, and having no choice she muttered a spell which put everyone around them to sleep. "Let's bring her back to the house -- hurry, the spell won't last long!"

"I thought you only knew the two disguise spells," Evanee groaned as Noah picked her up and began rushing towards the woods.

"I will explain later!" Lytha followed behind Noah.

After reaching Evanee's house, Lytha said, "Noah, put Evanee on the sofa, and I will heal her wounds."

He did as she commanded, but Evanee protested, "No, don't heal my wounds."

"Too late, I'm doing it."

"Lytha, stop!" Evanee exclaimed. "You can't heal my wounds; it's a bad omen in one of my prophecies."

Lytha stopped the chant and looked at Evanee for a moment. "Fine... Noah, can you get the first aid kit?"

"On it," Noah quickly rustled through the cabinet and brought it to the couch.

Evanee sighed. "You need to stop using magic."

"Why?"

"It's not safe. Especially for you. The more you use it, the bigger the toll on you. One or two a day is fine, but anything more can bring upon something much worse than those little hangovers you'd usually get."

"...I had no choice back there," Lytha said. "Besides I'm fine right now, aren't I?" Lytha brushed it off, and started bandaging Evanee's wounds.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. The price doesn't always affect just you," Evanee warned. "Think of magic like your deal with Drosselmeyer."

Noah sighed. "She's right, in my world it's the same way."

"...You said the same thing as the old lady," Lytha said.

"Old lady? What old lady?" Evanee asked.

"It's nothing," Lytha said. "So what did you get out of the prince?"

"No, it's not nothing," Evanee grabbed Lytha's arm to stop her from bandaging. "You tell me about the old lady and where you learned your magic, and I'll tell you my information."

"...Fine, but sit down and let me finish bandaging you first -- you too, Noah, sit down."

Evanee rolled her eyes, and let Lytha continue. Noah just crouched next to Evanee and watched.

Lytha as finished bandaging Evanee and closed the first aid kit, she began explaining.

"So, while I was on the run, I bumped into an old lady at a village -- apparently she was well-versed in spells and potions. I asked her for help to throw the guards off my trail and told her why I was running. Then she said, 'I will give you the power to help yourself'. I just nodded.

"After that, she taught me how to use magic to change my hair, eyes, and clothing, as well as a sleeping spell and basic healing to protect myself. But she told me to not use more than three spells in a single day, or else it will take a toll on my body, and I would become gravely ill."

"Hey Lytha, guess what," Evanee said.

Lytha looked confused.

"You are an idiot," Evanee finished, giving her a small smack on the top of the head. She smiled and sat up. "I've scolded you enough today."

"Noah, can you carry Evanee to her room?" Lytha asked, smiling at Noah.

"Will do!" Noah stepped up to Evanee.

"Good night, Evanee, Noah," Lytha said, waving at the two.

"Wait wait wait!" Evanee pushed on his chest. "That's not fair! I didn't end up telling my story. I promised you my story!"

Noah frowned. "What kinda drugs did you put her on, Lytha?"

Lytha giggled. "You can tell us tomorrow, Evanee. Besides, you need to rest so your wounds heal faster."

When Evanee nodded in agreement and started dozing off, Noah carried her to her room and sat in a chair across from her bed, keeping watch vigilantly.


	24. In Which Lytha Visits the Cafe, and Sagi and Odin Talk

_The next morning..._

"HEY SLEEPYHEADS, TIME FOR BREAKFAST!"

Lytha walked up to their room when they didn't answer. "Hey guys, it's time for breakfast."

She entered the room to see both Noah and Evanee sleeping soundly, and decided to let them sleep longer. She left a note saying she would be at the cafe and that breakfast was on the table.

~~~~~~~~~

Classes were out for the day, so Sagi got up at sunrise like she usually did and headed to the cafe for a refreshing breakfast. She wasn't sure who would be up this early in the morning, but even if she didn't meet anyone, she'd enjoy the quiet of an unbusy restaurant.

Sagi opened the door to the cafe, the customary informative jingle sounding as she did so. She glanced around, and getting the impression that self-seating was allowed, she took a seat at a nearby table. As she waited for a waiter to come by, she took out a familiar book that she had felt nostalgic about recently -- "The Prince and the Raven" -- and began to read it over again.

Lytha, while wearing her disguise, entered the cafe to see Sagi, and walked up to her.

Sagi glanced at Lytha with puzzlement, not recognizing her right away. "Oh, umm... is something the matter?"

"Oh, that's right -- Sagi, it's me, Lytha."

Sagi blinked. "Oh! Pardon me; I didn't recognize you like that," she admitted. "I've heard around that you had left for a few weeks; did your trip go all right?"

Lytha sat down. "Let's say, it was eventful."

Sagi touched her finger to her chin with concern. "I see... well, I hope you're all right now."

"So, how have you been, Sagi?"

Sagi sighed. "Things have, on the other hand, been uneventful for me. Classes have been going on as usual, and since that incident with Evanee, it's been very calm." She paused. "Yet, I can't help but feel like this quiet is just an illusion, that something else is happening; I just can't see it."

"Is this about the prince in town?"

Sagi tilted her head with puzzlement. "There's a new person of royal descent here? Hmm... I wonder if that's why the town doesn't seem as peaceful as it did before."

"Yeah, about that, funny story..."

Lytha explained everything that had happened to Sagi, who listened attentively. When Lytha was done, Sagi's brow furrowed. "Oh dear... I suppose that explains why you came here in your disguise." She frowned with concern. "I don't know that there's anything I can do about it, but is there some way I can help you?"

"Just call me Alexandria whenever I'm outside, or call me 'Alex' for short," Lytha said. "Oh, and if people ask if you have seen an orange-red haired girl with green eyes, just say nothing. Actually, I hope Evanee and Noah are okay with me being here alone, come to think of it..."

Suddenly, Noah appeared out of nowhere.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," Lytha remarked. "Good morning, Noah. Sleep well?"

"First off, my only resemblance to the Devil is that I am ever so devilishly handsome."

Lytha rolled her eyes.

"And second, I'd prefer you to wake me up rather than let me stay asleep with my head next to Evanee's torso. She pushed me off when she woke up."

"Oh," Lytha smirked a cat grin. "Come now, I'm sure you enjoyed that."

"I would if I hadn't gotten the bruise on my head..."

"Oh, I don't believe we've met before," Sagi said to the new young man. "You're a friend of Lytha's, right? My name is Sagi."

Noah turned to Sagi. "I'm Noah, it is ever so nice to meet you. Love the hair, very eccentric. Evanee has talked about you a bit."

"Eccentric...?" Sagi said, a little confused.

"Don't mind him," Lytha said. "Speaking of Evanee, Noah, where is she?"

"Ah, that's what I came here to tell you," Noah replied. "Evanee is having a little trouble walking. She sent me out to get a wheelchair. But the two of us will be here in a few hours."

"Few hours?"

Noah nodded. "She's still a little heated from yesterday, I might need to calm her down before we come."

"So should I come back home?"

"No no, stay here, please."

"Well, okay then, please take good care of her. Also, make sure she eats her breakfast."

With that, Noah rushed out.

Lytha sighed. "I swear, he is head over heels for Evanee."

"He seems like a fairly gregarious fellow in general," Sagi remarked, watching Noah rush out the door.

"Yeah, wait until he shows his true side."

Then, Odin walked through the cafe entrance. He wasn't sure if Dr. Crou was there in the mornings, but he figured there wasn't any harm checking. He wasn't too surprised not to see the doctor there immediately, but was a little surprised to see Sagi and Lytha at a table nearby. "Oh, you two. Well met, Sagi, Lytha."

Lytha turned to Odin. "Morning, Odin. Also, call me Alexandria when there are people around, okay?"

Odin frowned bemusedly. "Oh? Alright, then, Miss Alexandria." He meandered over to their table and took a seat near Sagi.

"I haven't seen you around much," he said, seeming to be addressing her, but not looking her direction. "Has anything been happening with you?"

Sagi glanced down at him with mild curiosity. "Not much, to be honest..." she replied, trailing off for a moment. "...How about you, Odin?"

Odin paused, then still without looking at her, he asked her, "How is it that you knew me already when we met?"

Sagi looked startled for a moment. Then, she hesitated. "I... well, I knew you... or perhaps, another of you. I suppose... I knew one future you, you could say."

Odin glanced at her finally. "A _future_ me?" He paused. "...Does that mean... this whole world I've been coming to... is in my future?"

"Perhaps you could think of it like that..." Sagi replied, unsure of how much more to say.

Odin frowned, thinking for a moment. "But, that human named Autor said that I came from a story -- a story that old human named Drosselmeyer wrote. If that's also true, does that mean that at some point in my future, I'll end up coming here, in some way different from now?"

"I knew _one_ future you," Sagi said, "but you aren't necessarily the exact same person. I'm sure I would have known at some point if he had met me before in his past. Your path is not necessarily his."

Lytha was at the counter ordering food while the two were talking.

Odin thought for a moment. "...What do you know about that other me?" he asked, looking at her with solemn curiosity.

Sagi folded her hands. She couldn't help but feel like she was in this situation before -- being privy to a secret that she daren't speak of, and yet was being questioned about relentlessly. But for his sake, she couldn't explain everything in detail...

"He's... something like you, but more... reserved, I suppose," Sagi said slowly. "And more poised, perhaps." She looked at him. "But you're much more carefree than I could ever imagine him being..."

Odin looked away at the table. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised if I'd get more serious when I grow up." He looked back at her. "What was he to you, then?"

Sagi stopped, almost not comprehending the question. "What was...?" Then, for some odd reason, she felt slightly flustered. "I... well, I suppose I'd consider him my friend, and we've both been through a lot of the same tribulations... so, I've gotten to know him a lot better than most I think."

Odin tilted his head curiously. "Where is he now?" He paused, then glanced away. "Is he... still alive?"

Sagi smiled. "Don't worry about that," she told him. "If there's one thing I know, it's that he's still alive, and most likely doing well out there, somewhere."

She gazed off into the distance. "I hope I might hear from him again someday soon... but, I believe I'll see him again sooner or later."

Lytha quietly walked up to the table and placed the food in front of them.

Odin looked intrigued by the food. "Ooh, is this for us?"

"Yep, go ahead and dig in," Lytha sat down and sipped on her coffee.

"Don't mind if I do!" Odin said, grabbing some of the food and occupying himself with it.

Sagi watched him dig in with gusto, seeming wistful as she sighed softly and folded her hands again.

"Sagi?" Lytha asked.

"Hmm?" Sagi turned to Lytha, the pensive look still on her face.

"You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm alright," Sagi replied, blinking at the question. "Sorry, do I seem upset somehow?"

"Well, you seem sad for some reason."

Sagi's pensive look deepened. "Hmm... I wonder..." She paused. "It's just... maybe it strikes me just how much he's different from his future self. It makes me think, if this was what he was like as a child..."

"Maybe..." Seeing Sagi's troubled expression, Lytha tried to change the subject. "Anyways, have you seen Marilee at the academy?"

Sagi shook her head. "Not recently... have you not heard from her, either?"

"Well, no, actually -- I was hoping to see her when I came back."

"Hmm..." Sagi said. "I'm sorry; I haven't seen her lately."

"I wonder if she is okay with school."

Sagi's eyes widened a bit. "Oh, she's started attending the academy?"

"Yep," Lytha said, sipping on her coffee.

Odin appeared to have gone through an entire small plate, and seemed to be taking a pause in his culinary rampage. "So what is this school all of you have been talking about? It almost sounds like it teaches ballet, but then also music, and also drawing...?"

"Yep, the school teaches a lot of different art subjects," Lytha said. "Why not join the academy, Odin?"

Odin frowned dubiously. "I dunno... I kinda doubt human academies teach ravens things. And besides... if I joined, then I'd have to show up all the time whenever somebody else tells me to." He closed his eyes defiantly. "That part -- no thanks."

Lytha laughed.

Odin looked thoughtful. "...Though, maybe I'd go to a class teaching you about, I dunno, the stars or something..."

"Stars?" Lytha asked. "Why the stars, Odin?"

A small grin appeared on his face as he recalled an important memory. "Well... I told the roost once that I was gonna steal the stars from the sky, and bring them down here to shine. They laughed at me, but I still haven't given up on that." He paused. "It's just... I don't know where to start on finding a way to get there."

Lytha giggled. "So, is it to prove yourself to them?"

Odin shook his head. "Maybe it'll prove something to the others, but... I want to, for myself. And, for my friends."

"I'm sure you will find a way," Lytha said.

Odin nodded to himself confidently. "Yep. Whether or not any humans tell me anything useful, I'll get there one day."

Sagi smiled, and quietly turned her attention back to the book in her hands.


	25. In Which Evanee and Noah Visit Lytha at the Cafe

Then, the front door of the cafe slowly opened, and Noah pressed it open, allowing Evanee to wheel herself in, her legs casually crossed in the chair.

"Evanee!" Lytha exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

Evanee smiled. "Yes, yes, I'm fine now. Odin, Sagi! Hi, you two."

"So I heard someone pushed a certain someone else," Lytha remarked.

"Well, yes, Noah did push me here," Evanee said with a small smile.

Noah leaned over. "I think she's talking about when you woke up this morning."

Lytha giggled.

Evanee frowned. "You just had to tell her about that, didn't you?"

"More like I saw," Lytha said. "I was waking you guys up for breakfast and saw the scene."

Lytha whispered to Noah, "I happened to take a photo -- do you want it?"

Noah's eyes widened. "Would it be creepy if I said yes?"

"Nope," Lytha winked.

Evanee sighed. "Anyways. My legs are fine, it just hurts to walk -- my joints hurt."

"So, what did you find out from Prince Alex, Evanee?"

Evanee wheeled herself to the table. "Well, he's in love with you, but he's such a privileged stuck-up little idiot that he doesn't consider your free will."

"A prince, in love with me? No way, I don't even know him."

Odin leaned back in his chair, resting his head in his hands. "D'ya need me to drop a toad on him, Miss Alexandria? Or maybe something a little more nasty for that human refuse."

"No toads, Odin," Lytha said.

"Any other suggestions?" Odin asked, slightly tongue-in-cheek.

"You do know him, Lytha. Your memories -- you two were close as kids," Evanee said. "Best friends, and you promised him you'd get married in the future."

"My memories... I assume those were the memories Drosselmeyer took."

"Normally I'd think it was cute, but when I asked if it would make you unhappy, he said that there is nothing to be unhappy about when you're royalty. And then he was like, 'oh I'd still marry her if she wasn’t happy'."

"...I'm starting to question my childhood," Lytha said. "Anything else?"

"Uhhhh, nothing much. He threw me out."

"......" Lytha sighed. "My life..."

Evanee shrugged. "Yep. But I'm with Odin, let's drop shit on his head."

"I'd rather kill him, honestly," Lytha said. "Pretty sure Noah would agree with me."

"I wouldn't argue with you, but are you concerned you'll have to kill the rest of the ones that come after him?" Odin said casually. "You'll have to be ready to get your hands dirtier if you start doing that."

"That's right," Lytha said, sighing again.

The door opened, and a royal guard entered the cafe, walking up to the table.

Lytha muttered, "What now...?"

"I'm here on behalf of Prince Alex of Eden; he wishes to pass a message to Evanee," the guard said.

"I'm here, what is it?" Evanee asked.

Noah tensed, stepping towards the guard.

"He says that he will be coming to the cafe then days later to discuss the matter you told him about, and he wishes for the couple to be present as well."

Lytha side-glanced at Noah and Evanee.

"That is all. And this is for you, Miss Evanee -- an apology from Prince Alex for the injuries that one of the guards inflicted." The guard dropped a bag of gold on the table and left.

"......." Lytha was speechless.

"What the hell?" Evanee said. "Does he think money is going to fix everything? I swear, Lytha, I'm going to strangle him."

"Go ahead, I'm not stopping you," Lytha replied, turning to Evanee. "Anyways, what was that about? What did you tell him, Evanee?"

"Oh, I suppose I left that out. I told him that I was his only hope in finding you, which, to be honest, is true," Evanee said.

"....You WHAT?!" Lytha exclaimed.

"Chill, girl, it's how we get out of this."

"I. Want. To. Die," Lytha moaned. "So, what is the plan?"

"I continue to work at his conscience. He threw me out because he knew I was right," Evanee said. "I'm not comfortable with you being here at the time, Lytha, he'll recognize you."

"Did you forget what the guard said?" Lytha asked.

"I know. I know. But you being here will sell you out," Evanee said.

Outside, Marilee walked along the path to the cafe, but noticed the guard walking out from the door. She tilted her head as she walked into the cafe, holding some white fabric in her hand.

Lytha heard the door open to see Marilee walk in. "Hi, Marilee," she said.

Evanee turned around in her wheelchair. "Marilee! Hi!"

Marilee smiled at everyone and waved. "Hi!"

She stopped when she noticed Evanee in the wheelchair and looked worried. "Evanee, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, I just gotta little roughed up by some royal guards -- you probably saw them in the way here."

The ravenette frowned a little and nodded. "I... I should talk to them, or something... and make them not hurt people..."

Lytha looked at Marilee. "Don't bother; they are stubborn as mules." She then remembered that she was in disguise, and wondered if Marilee would recognize her.

Marilee blinked twice as she looked at Lytha and tilted her head. "Lytha? When did you dye your hair and get colored contacts?"

"Case in point, people can recognize you," Evanee remarked to Lytha.

Marilee looked a little confused to what Evanee and Lytha were talking about.

"Anyways, how is school?" Lytha asked.

The girl smiled. "It's going great! Mytho's been helping me get settled in!" she chirped, holding the white fabric closer to her.

"Mytho?" Lytha asked.

Evanee smiled. "... I didn’t realize you and Mytho were friends."

Marilee nodded. "Y-Yeah. He's been really nice," she answered. Though, she wasn't sure if she should tell them she's a character from the same book as her brother...

Lytha whispered to Noah, "Psst. Noah, here." Lytha handed him a photo.

Noah smiled at the picture, which he shoved into his coat pocket before looking up at Marilee. "We've met briefly, yes?"

Marilee looked over at Noah and nodded. "Hi again. Yes, only for a bit."

"What do you have in your hand there?" Noah asked.

"Oh, I'm making a new outfit for myself," Marilee answered.

Odin blinked, leaning his elbow on the table. "...Is it just me, or do you seem to be in a more cheerful mood than normal, Marilee?"

Evanee chuckled. "Now that you mention it, it seems that way, yes."

"Yeah, true," Lytha added.

Marilee suddenly let out a caw of surprise when everyone had pointed out her cheerful mood. "S-Sorry! I guess entering the a-academy made me happy."

"That's good to hear," Lytha said, stretching. "Well, all my hard work paid off."

Evanee pondered the cloth Noah mentioned. White was an odd color for Marilee to choose. "Interesting color there, Marilee, but it suits you perfectly."

"Don't you normally wear raven-colored clothing?" Odin asked curiously. "Any reason it's different this time?"

Marilee nearly hid her face with the white fabric. "I-I just thought I-I could t-try a different color, caw!"

Evanee smiled. "I also didn’t know you sewed -- I do as well, and most of my clothes are made by myself, so if you ever need help or materials, I'm here."

"If you need shoes to match the outfit, I can help with that," Lytha said, winking.

Noah looked over at ~~his girl~~ Evanee. "You make your own clothes?"

"...Yeah."

"That explains why they bring out your beauty," Noah said.

This earned a large eye roll and an intense glare from Evanee to Noah. Lytha giggled uncontrollably. "Pfft.... ahahahhaha... I... can't... stop..." Lytha said inbetween peals of laughter. "You...ahahaha... really are...a...flirt, hehehehhe!"

"Noah, you have no charm and you're terrible at flirting," Evanee said, recrossing her legs.

Odin made a face. "Ugh, not this stuff again..."

"Hahaha -- ooooh, that was a nice comeback, Evanee," Lytha said.

"That wasn’t even a comeba -- ugh, never mind. I'm with you, Odin."

"Come now, I'm sure Noah was being nice," Lytha said.

"He talks an awful lot about how humans look for it to just be politeness," Odin said frankly, looking at Lytha dubiously.

Evanee crossed her arms. "It's not nice, and it's not a compliment, especially since he does it to everyone."

"I came here to have a good time, and am honestly feeling so attacked right now," he chuckled.

Odin narrowed his eyes at Noah. "I don't like humans who try to victimize themselves to make others look bad."

His smile dropped. "It's, it's a -- it's a joke."

Lytha casually sipped on her coffee.

He turned back to Evanee. "And to be frank, yes, I compliment others, but you are always on my mind."

In the background, a group of students entered the cafe and took a seat near where Lytha and the rest were.

"On your mind's list of 'who can I annoy the most in my life'," Evanee drank her glass of water and wheeled herself closer to Odin.

"Hey, did you hear about the prince in town?" one of the students behind them said.

"Yeah, I heard he is looking for someone," another one replied.

Evanee rolled her eyes. "Can we please just get away from that prince for like, five seconds," she groaned under her breath.

"How I wish," Lytha said.

"I heard he is looking for a girl with orange-red hair and green eyes," a third student said.

"The only one I know by that description is Miss Lytha from the ballet and music divisions," the first one said.

"Who?"

"You know, the girl who performed at the town center."

"Ooohhh!"

"But why her? I would love to marry the prince!"

Sagi was growing uncomfortable with the cafe having gotten more and more people; the noise and chatter were beginning to bother her. She took her book into her hands, about to get up from her chair to leave.

Odin looked at Sagi, who he saw getting up from her chair. "Oh, are you leaving now?"

"So soon, Sagi?" Lytha asked.

Sagi gave them a somewhat discomfited smile. "It's just getting a little busy in here. I think I'll head to somewhere quieter for now."

"Alright, it was nice seeing you again, Sagi," Lytha said.

Sagi nodded, waving a hand gently as she headed for the door. "Farewell for now, then," she said before stepping out.

Odin stared after Sagi, as if considering whether to follow her out. But, he waited a moment, seeing what the rest of the humans were going to do before he decided on leaving.

"Odin, can you drop a load of toads on them?" Lytha pointed to the table of students gossiping.

"All of them at once, right now?" Odin whispered back, frowning. "I can't exactly pull a crate of them out of thin air, and not inside a human establishment..."

"They keep gossiping about the stupid prince," Lytha said. "Anyways, we better leave soon, too -- this place is getting too noisy for my liking."

"Then let's not waste time," Odin said, hopping off the chair and heading toward the exit. "I really should get back and meet up with the roost; I'm surprised they aren't already suspicious about my absence."

"Haha, you do that, see you tomorrow, Odin," Lytha waved goodbye to Odin.

Odin threw a hand up into the air in farewell as he opened the door and left.

Evanee turned from the table and rolled up to the students. "Wait, Lytha is the girl the prince is looking for?"

"I mean, Miss Lytha is the only one we know with orange-red hair and green eyes, so it has to be her," the first student replied.

“Omg I had no idea! If I had known, I would have stopped her from leaving town a few days ago!"

Noah grasped Evanee's arm and whispered a "What are you doing?" into her ear.

"She left town?" the third student asked.

"Yeah, something about leaving for good, to finally find what she's been looking for after so many years," Evanee said.

After Evanee wheeled back to their table, Lytha whispered to her, "What are you doing, Evanee?"

The students behind them muttered to each other.

"Anyway, we'd better get going. Lex, Noah? Come on," Evanee said to them.

"Um, sure?" Lytha pushed Evanee out the cafe. "Noah, can you hold the door?"

Noah nodded. "Of course, love."

Lytha rolled her eyes.

Once they were outside the cafe, Lytha asked, "So, Evanee, what was that about?"

"Gotta start the rumors that you aren't here somehow. Those girls will spread the information like wildfire. Better yet, they don't know me at all, so it'll be hard to connect it back to me -- and if it does, I'll feign ignorance."

"Okay... let's go home, then," Lytha said.

And so, the three of them returned to Evanee's house for the evening.


	26. In Which Dr. Crou Visits Ahiru and Fakir

In the back areas of Goldcrowne during a calm afternoon, Dr. Crou casually strolled down the cobblestone path. He eventually stopped in front of a door to a particular antique shop. Taking in a deep breath, he rapped on the door and waited for a reply.

"I'll get it!" A shrill holler came from the other side of the door. It opened, and out popped Ahiru in a beige turtleneck and yellow pants. "Dr. Crou! How are you? How did you find our place? Ack, I mean -- please come in!"

"Good afternoon, Ahiru. I hope you don't mind the sudden visit," Dr. Crou asked, who let himself in as Ahiru opened the door wider for the really tall crow man.

"Not at all! Please, have a seat. Right now Charon is out, so it's just me and Fakir," she said, pulling up a chair. "Oh, hold on a second -- Fakir!"

Ahiru made her way to the stairs, yelling at the top of her lungs. "Fakir! Come downstairs! Dr. Crou came to visit!"

A muffled voice replied back, "Alright, I'm coming!"

Soon, Fakir climbed down the stairs, looking a bit guarded as he greeted the guest. "Afternoon, Dr. Crou. What brings you here today?" he asked cooly.

"Ah, good to see you too, Fakir. I wanted to see how you two were doing, is all," Dr. Crou replied pleasantly.

But as the three sat down after Ahiru brought some tea, Dr. Crou decided to tell them. "I... have a favor to ask of you two, actually."

Both Ahiru and Fakir looked slightly surprised.

"What kind of favor?" Ahiru asked.

"Whatever it is -- it will be a no," Fakir said.

"Fakir! He didn't even tell us what it is!"

Dr. Crou started to laugh at Fakir's curt answer. "Aww, come on, Fakir. Aren't you at least a tiny bit curious?"

"You can tell me, then, since Mister Grumpy doesn't want to listen," Ahiru huffed.

Fakir just closed his eyes with exasperation.

"Well, I was hoping to ask if you could write up a small story of how you guys defeated Drosselmeyer. Or maybe a letter to a friend of mine about it. I--"

Dr. Crou paused, hesitant to continue. "I want to give it as a present to someone, to give them hope."

Fakir was silent. "..."

"Oh! Then maybe you can give them this instead!" Ahiru jumped up and started going up the stairs looking for something, running back down with a book in hand. "Ta-daa! The 'Completed Edition of The Prince and the Raven'! It's basically our story and how it ended!"

Dr. Crou gasped. "May I?"

"Mm-hmm!" Ahiru nodded.

"I suppose we can both write letters to explain our points of view on it," Fakir said.

Dr. Crou carefully held the book in his hands, flipping through the pages. "Is it okay to have this? To give to them? I didn't expect you guys to already have something like this," he asked, looking back up at them.

"Yes! Of course you can!" Ahiru said, smiling.

"Ahiru, I hope you didn't grab that off of my desk. That's the copy that was from my editor. Here," Fakir made his way upstairs. "I'll get you a copy that you can give him."

"Oops. Haha, sorry about that, Dr. Crou," Ahiru said.

"No, no. It's completely fine. He--my friend will be really glad to hear from you two..."

Ahiru looked at Dr. Crou as he stared with melancholy at the book in his hand. She had a gut feeling that she might know who the present was for. "Umm, this might be a strange question, but is the book for... one of us in your world?"

Dr. Crou started. "Uh, I-I...!"

He looked at Ahiru, and after a few moments passed, he gave in. "It's... actually for my world's Fakir."

Ahiru gasped. "For your world's Fakir? The one you said barely survived?"

Just then Fakir walked in, but not before hearing this conversation. "...I found a copy you can use," he said, handing Dr. Crou the book and then sitting down into his seat. "So this is actually for your world's me?"

Dr. Crou nodded. "Yes. Right now he's hospitalized, but perhaps -- maybe -- if he could read about your story, he can have hope to continue on in life. Then... I can leave my world in peace."

"Leave your world?"

"Ah, meaning to perhaps adventure here or travel to another world to settle down. I... I don't wish to stay in my world anymore. Too many painful memories," Dr. Crou said. "It might be selfish of me, but I truly don't have any reason to stay there. But to give this gift to my friend is my last wish before I go."

Fakir, seemingly moved, nodded in agreement. "Alright, we will try our best to encourage him."

Ahiru nodded enthusiastically as well. "Yes! We'll write the best letters to him to cheer him up!"

Dr. Crou's eyes watered, although it was hard to tell. "Thank you... so much," he croaked.

They then talked and discussed a few things about what to write. Dr. Crou agreed to come back in a couple of days so the two could carefully write their letters about their side of the story with some encouraging words to his world's Fakir. And when he came to the shop again to receive the book and letters, this time both Fakir and Ahiru greeted the crow man warmly at the door.


	27. In Which Prince Alex's Guards Confront Lucy

Lucy, as always, was very early on the way to the academy. She disliked being late, so she was usually up super early.

From a distance, she could see two guards and a royal-looking young man in the middle outside the school gates.

Lucy was confused. _A prince? Just randomly at the school gates? But that is not the prince of the fairy tale Sagi told me about, is it?_

The prince saw Lucy walking toward the school entrance, and he snapped his fingers. The guards stood in front of Lucy, preventing her from entering the school grounds.

"Wha--?"

"Halt, our prince wishes to ask you some questions before you can enter the school," one of the guards said.

"Uh, sure... what is it?"

"Pardon me, I am Prince Alex of Eden -- can I ask, have you seen a maiden with orange-red hair and green eyes?"

Lucy knew who they were looking for, but she also knew that the girl had a reason to stay hidden. "I am sorry, but I have not seen someone like that. If you do not mind me asking, why are you looking for this 'maiden'?"

"That is none of your concern -- since you know nothing, you may now enter the school grounds," Alex said.

The prince snapped his fingers again, and the guards made way for Lucy to pass.

She slightly bowed before the prince and then walked into the school.

_Of course, it is none of my concern. He is probably lovestruck and wants to marry her. Knowing Lytha, however, she isn't attached to any relationship in particular right now. So, it is most likely a one-sided love. And these are always doomed to fail._

She smirked slightly. _Hope he doesn't feel too much sadness if he ultimately gets a decline_ **.**

And so, she walked on to her ballet class.


	28. In Which Dr. Crou Gives Odin a Healing Magic Lesson

"Hey, Dr. Crou?" Odin asked the old crow one day, while hanging out at the cafe. "I never got a chance to ask before -- you're a doctor, aren't you? But what are you a doctor of, exactly?"

"Why, I'm a medical doctor. My original job in my previous life was to heal other crows who were injured, mostly from battle," Dr. Crou replied as he folded the silverware into the napkins.

"Huh!" Odin said, clearly intrigued. "I've actually seen human medics out on battlefields, but not ravens. Least where I come from, anyway." He paused. "I guess it's cause the humans did most of the fighting in my world; we were just kinda the quiet audience a lot of times, picking through the remains afterwards."

"Ah, I see. We were fighting the Swan Warriors, mostly humans with the magical power from swan deities. The war made me regret many things we had done." Dr. Crou thoughtfully added. "I was first a scout due to my magic detection abilities. But my commander saw that it would be tactically better if there was someone on the field to heal the others. So I was then trained to use healing magic, which actually came naturally to me."

Odin tilted his head curiously. "Healing magic, huh...? That's something the humans in my world would never think of ravens having. They think of us as harbingers of death, not life, after all," he said, growing pensive.

"Well, there weren't that many Doctors in my ranks; I guess we aren't naturally inclined for it. But it's still very much possible." Dr. Crou looked at Odin, and curiously tilted his head. "Curious to see if you can do healing magic, Odin?"

A lightbulb seemed to go on above Odin's head, as if he had a sudden flash of inspiration. He looked upward at Dr. Crou with an inquiring gaze. "...Do you think you'd be able to teach me?" he asked earnestly.

"Sure, why not? I don't think it would hurt to try. And if you do get hurt, I'll heal you and maybe you can learn from that instead," Dr. Crou chuckled.

"Feh," Odin said, puffing out his chest and crossing his arms haughtily. "I doubt that'll happen! How would I hurt myself with healing magic, anyway? That sounds really silly."

"Well, who knows? Maybe we will accidentally find out you have the power for fire breathing when we do our lessons. Hahahaha. Let me finish this up and see you at the Apple Tree Park."

"Alright!" Odin said excitedly as he hopped out of his chair and hurried out the door. "See you there, Dr. Crou! Come as quick as you can!"

"Alright, see you soon." Dr. Crou waved.

Finally done with his work, he made his way over to the park. When he got there, he saw an impatient Odin waiting.

"Okay, Odin. We can get started. First let's do some sparing to tire out the body. Then we can practice using some healing magic to ease the aches."

"Alright, then!" Odin exclaimed, raring to go. "Ready when you are," he said more calmly, standing at a deceptively relaxed stance, his hands at his side, ready for whatever was coming.

"Hmm, it's been a while since I've sparred with anyone. I'll go easy on you, fledgling." Dr. Crow said, pulling back his gloves back for a tighter fit. He then sprinted at the kid and tried to tackle him.

If Odin has a combat strength, it's his agility due to his small but springy stature -- so, reading the doctor's movement speed, he dodged out of the way, slid a bit in a one-footed pivot on the cobblestone ground, and winded up almost directly behind him. It took Odin a moment to stand back up, though, allowing a brief pause before the boy could react...

Dr. Crou was bigger and at least had some combat experience, so he controlled his momentum when he realized Odin had dodged him. Dropping his hands on the ground, he swept his leg behind him, trying to get a lucky kick.

Noticing the leg sweep barely in time, Odin managed to partly dodge the kick by diving past it and rolling on the ground to break his fall. The momentum carried him quickly back to his feet, and he found himself in prime position for a counterattack.

Eagerly, he took the chance and tried to tackle the doctor in turn, but seeming in his enthusiasm to have forgotten one simple but unavoidable fact: Dr. Crou was significantly bigger and heavier than him. If there was a faceoff of collisions, Odin wouldn't be the one who emerged the winner.

Dr. Crou sprung himself up onto his feet from the kick, but then noticed Odin coming in for a tackle. He decided to catch him instead and put him in a stranglehold.

Odin found himself in a pinch, as he no longer had the option to dodge or reposition himself. He struggled tenaciously though, trying to use his arms and legs to wrangle and pummel his way out of the doctor's grip.

Dr. Crou laughed a bit as Odin tried to struggle his way out. Until he got an elbow to his face, and playfully he gave the boy a toss to the ground.

"Oomph!" Odin grunted upon impact. Seemingly undeterred, he scrambled back up, quite battered at this point, but his spirit far from broken. "I... I can still fight...!" he said between huffs of breath, winded despite himself.

"Nice. Got a lot of fight in you," Dr. Crou said as he took the time to brush off some dirt from his suit pants.

Odin took a step forward as if to continue fighting, but unwillingly halted when he stumbled with a wince. "Ugh..." he muttered with frustration as he tried once again to get back on his feet.

"I guess that's enough for now. We are trying to learn healing magic, after all. Let me get a closer look." He sat down across from Odin and scanned his injuries. A bruise here and there, but nothing too serious.

Odin pouted a little, as if put out by the thought that he couldn't fight onward in his state. "W...Well, okay," he replied with a haughty bluster as he caught his breath. "I mean th...the point was the magic, l...like you said."

"Mm-hmm, and we can try here," Dr. Crou held up Odin's right arm that was covered in scratches. "I will apply some healing magic to your arm. Try to figure out the sensation and energy that comes out of it."

Holding the arm with his left hand, he hovered his right hand over the scratches. Then, a low light pulsed out from his palms and the scratches visibly disappeared.

"This is the most basic form of healing magic. Think of it as trying to create extra energy to start the natural healing process of the person's body. The most advanced healing is doing the natural healing process for the injured person instead, which unfortunately uses an extreme amount of your own magic and is trickier to master."

Odin's expression went from mildly irritated to actively attentive, and he glanced at his arm as Dr. Crou explained. Seeing the bruises begin to disappear, he blinked and closed his eyes intently, as if focusing on the sensation. "It... it kinda feels like there's... more life being drawn out," Odin noted. "As if it's healing by itself, but at lightning speed."

"Mmm, good. Can you feel what the actual magic feels like?"

With his eyes still closed and his expression focused, he furrowed his brow. "Uh... well, it's kinda... you could almost say, soothing, but it's something that wakes you up rather than lulls you to sleep. Like... a fire in your veins that invigorates you instead of scorching you."

"Correct. Good job at sensing it, usually it takes a while to notice it." Dr. Crou nodded in approval.

When he finished, he drew back his hand and let go of Odin's arm. "Do you want to try your other arm now?"

After Dr. Crou let go, Odin opened his eyes and moved his arm around."...Whoa, it's like it never happened!" Odin said in awe. "That's amazing!"

Smiling, Dr. Crou held out his hands to demonstrate the basic magic. "In your good hand, try to create this light here."

Odin stared at the light intently, gave a brief nod, and held out his hand and pursed his lips with effort. After several seconds of nothing, he pouted and creased his brows with insistence.

This time, instead of the luminescent light Dr. Crou had generated, a shadowy purple flash of light "popped" from his hand, making him flinch in surprise. "Ack--!"

"Whoa, easy there. Don't try to create healing magic with anger." Dr. Crou ruffled Odin's hair playfully. "Try to calm down and think of a more gentle energy to create first. Think of something that makes you and others happy."

Odin tightened his lips, still feeling a little embarrassed at the obvious fail. But never one to be deterred, he continued at it. He almost made the same mistake of using anger again, but remembered what the doctor said, and he took a breath to calm himself, closing his eyes. He thought hard, trying to think of "gentle" things, and "happy" things.

It was oddly difficult, as the memories at the forefront of his mind back home were grim and desolate. Instead, he tried thinking of his recent memories of this other world, with the new friends he had met. He remembered the good food and company he had here, and the times he laughed at humans being silly when nothing was really serious.

In his outstretched hand, an almost imperceptible point of lavender light twinkled into view, though he did not realize this as his eyes were still closed.

"Good good, you are almost there," Dr. Crou gently said.

A flicker of a smile appeared on Odin's face, and he continued, thinking about how awesome it would be to perform healing magic, like Dr. Crou could.

But then, a dark cloud drifted across his mind, and the smile on his face faded -- the cloud was that of the pained soldier, who Odin felt like he could do nothing to help him, other than to remove his ability to feel pain, or anything at all. He wondered if a raven like him could possibly do anything to heal someone from a wound like that.

At that thought, he grimaced, and the tiny light in his hands began to dim, shifting slowly from the gentle lavender to a dark crimson.

"Odin--" Dr. Crou called out in surprise. Odin's magic had until now appeared in shades of lavender, so he didn't expect the crimson color to appear.

Hearing Dr. Crou's voice brought him back to the present for a precious moment, and he remembered what he's trying to do. So, out of sheer willpower, he wrenched his thoughts from the dark fog lurking in his mind to his current undertaking.

"Something happy... something gentle..." he muttered to himself, focusing with all his might, even with his difficulty doing so. The light in his hand wavered, flitting back and forth from a dull purple to that dark crimson.

Odin then noticed that his hand felt like something was in it -- oddly hot at points. He opened his eyes a bit and saw the point of light, wavering and uncertain.

Odin had barely a moment to wonder at its strange colors before the thought crosses his mind that it looked like a little star in his hand. At that, the recollection of his promise to his friends of his aspiration to snatch the stars from the sky blossomed in his mind.

When this thought bloomed, the color of the light then shined a solid bright purple -- perhaps not as gentle as the lavender, but the dark crimson did not return. Odin blinked, not sure what to make of this.

As his focus waned and the light faded away as he put his hand down, he looked up at Dr. Crou, frowning. "Uh... did I do it that time...?"

"You were close, but I think you were straining yourself over something. We can stop here for now. Maybe we can try again another day."

Odin let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "...Okay," he said with a nod, unusually reticent at that moment. "Maybe I'm just tired. That must be it."

Dr. Crou nodded. "I did rough you up a bit earlier. Let's go to the cafe for refreshments."

Odin glanced up and nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"I also heard Apollo's special today is some freshly caught trout. We can try that over some lemonade."

Odin tilted his head curiously. "Huh," he said. "I don't usually get to eat fish. Okay, then!"

With that, the two of them headed back into the cafe.


	29. In Which Lytha Sings on Stage with Selene Listening

Lytha was at the cafe sitting by the window in full disguise, reading a book. She sighed. "It's so lonely by myself."

But eventually, Selene walked into the cafè. Lytha noticed Selene, but since Lytha was in disguise, she did not immediately recongize Lytha and instead sat down on an empty table.

 _If I only could tell Sagi that I remembered, but she is in school right now. Same with Lucy..._ _Evanee is also not here, and I have not seen Lytha in a good while. Hope she is doing alright._

Lytha was debating to herself whether to tell Selene that she was here, but there were other customers around. Deciding to do it anyway, Lytha stood up and sat opposite Selene, who did not really pay attention to the ostensible stranger sitting across from her.

"Selene," Lytha whispered. "It's been a while."

"What the? Who are you?" Selene asked.

Lytha placed a finger on her lips, indicating for Selene to not say anything, and Lytha blinked her eyes to show her natural green ones for a moment. "It's me, Selene," Lytha said, blinking her eyes back to red again.

"Ah, okay, but..." She then whispered very quietly for only Lytha to hear, "Why that disguise?"

"Pretty sure you've heard about the prince," Lytha said.

"You mean that guy claiming to be a prince walking around outside with his so-called guards? Yes, I did. But what is with him?" she asked, still quiet.

"Well, he is looking for me," Lytha replied.

"Why is he looking for you?"

"Well... " Lytha began to explain what happened.

After Lytha explained everything, Selene understood. "So you are hiding from him because he is blinded by his one-sided love? Have you tried to explain to him calmly that you have no interest in marrying him?"

"Well, the thing is, if I reveal myself, I will just be locked up in his castle again."

"So he is just too dense to realize that you simply don't want to marry him?"

"You could say that."

"That must be annoying to be escaping from him all the time..." Selene said. "Did anybody else try to explain the situation to him?"

"Well, Evanee tried, but he was too stubborn to listen to her," Lytha said.

"I see. That is a complicated situation..."

"Anyways, when I'm in disguise, call me Lex."

"Fine then, Lex."

"Hey, Selene," Lytha suddenly said. "Can you follow me to the school stage?"

"Uhh, why?"

"Well, you see..." Lytha began sheepishly. "...Evanee needs someone to accompany me wherever I go out somewhere, and I miss performing my singing."

"Sure, I could accompany you, that is no problem -- but there is a slight other problem..."

"What's that?"

"On my way here, I saw the Prince and his guards walking around the academy, and I don't know if they have gone by now."

"We could try anyway?" Lytha said. "I mean, you couldn't recognize me, right?"

"Isn't there an alternative way into the academy other than the main entrance? They might halt us and ask where 'Lytha' is... and I'd want to avoid having to talk to them..."

"Hmmm, if I remember correctly, there is another way in the back of the school," Lytha said.

"Well, they've only been around the front entrance, so we could get into the school by using the back entrance," Selene said. "Let's try that."

"Let's go, then!" Lytha stood up and exited the cafe with Selene.

Soon, Lytha and Selene arrived at the school's back entrance.

"Here we are," Lytha said.

Still, Selene is very quiet. "Good. And no one seems to be here. So let us get in before they get the idea of checking the back entrance..."

Lytha nodded and entered the school with Selene.

After walking for a bit, both of them made it to the school stage. "This is it," Lytha said.

"Perfect. No one around, too..." Selene said. "At least, I don't see anyone."

Lytha walked to the center of the stage in front of the empty audience seats, and started singing, while Selene simply listened from backstage.

 _♪_ _Silent, I can't wait here silent  
_ _Working up a storm inside my head  
_ _Nothing, I just stood for nothing  
_ _So I fell for everything you said_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Hear the rumble  
_ _Hear my voice  
_ _Silent, I can't wait here silent  
_ _Gotta make a change and make some noise_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Undo my sad  
_ _Undo what hurts so bad  
_ _Undo my pain  
_ _Gonna get out, through the rain_ _♪_

 _♪_ _I know that I am over you  
_ _At last I know what I should do  
_ _Undo my sad_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Trouble, I'm in trouble_ , _baby  
_ _Every time I look into your eyes  
_ _Save me, oh I'm gonna save me  
_ _Far away from all the crazy lies_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Hear the rumble  
_ _Hear my voice  
_ _Undo my sad  
_ _Undo what hurts so bad_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Undo my pain  
_ _Gonna get out, through the rain  
_ _I know that I am over you  
_ _At last I know what I should do  
_ _Undo my sad_ _♪_

And Selene kept listening, and thinking. _I can see why she is in the music division... she is pretty good at singing..._

Lytha ended the song, and Selene clapped.

"Thanks," Lytha said, blushing.

"I didn't know you had lungs like that," another voice suddenly spoke.

Lytha jumped, and turned to the sound of the voice. "Who's there?!"

Selene was also surprised. It hadn't been her voice...

"Relax, it's just me," Noah stepped out into the light, his coat flapping at the ends and his hands in his pockets.

"Uhh, who is that? Do you know that guy?" Selene asked.

Lytha sighed. "It's just you, Noah."

Noah looked over at the other girl standing backstage. "Oh, I haven't met you before, are you a friend of Ly--lex's?"

"Noah, this is Selene, she is my friend that I trust. Selene, this is Noah," Lytha said, introducing them to each other. "Be careful of him; he is a flirt."

Noah smiled. "Oh, come on, you ruin all the fun! What's with the warning, can I not just say hi?"

"Nice to meet you, I suppose...?" Selene said.

He turned toward Selene. "Nice to meet you, too -- love your eyes, someone could get lost in them easily."

Lytha sighed exasperatedly, and then giggled.

"Uh... yeah, okay, 'Lex', I can see why you said to be careful..."

"Anyways, Noah, why are you here?" Lytha asked.

"Can I not come say hi to my, uuuuh... girlfriend?"

"Uh-huh," Lytha said dryly.

"Wait, girlfriend?" Selene asked.

Lytha explained the story to Selene.

"Oh thank god, she knows," Noah sighed and sat down, relieved he didn't have to keep up the act.

"Ah, okay, understandable, I suppose. Is that prince really that annoying?"

"Yes," Lytha said.

"Unfortunate, really..." Selene said.

Lytha shrugged. "Any song requests?"

"Not from me..." Selene, despite the relaxed situation, seemed a bit...worried?

"Then let me sing one last song," Lytha said. She closed her eyes.

 _♪_ _A million thoughts in my head  
_ _Should I let my heart keep listening?  
_ _Cause up 'til now I've walked the line  
_ _Nothing lost but something missing_ _♪_

 _♪_ _I can't decide what's wrong, what's right  
_ _Which way should I go?  
_ _If only I knew what my heart was telling me  
_ _Don't know what I'm feeling, is this just a dream?  
_ _Ah-oh, yeah_ _♪_

 _♪_ _If only I could read the signs in front of me  
_ _I could find the way to who I'm meant to be  
_ _Ah-oh, if only  
_ _If only  
_ _If only_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Every step, every word  
_ _With every hour I am falling in  
_ _To something new, something brave  
_ _To someone I, I have never been_ _♪_

 _♪_ _I can't decide what's wrong, what's right  
_ _Which way should I go?  
_ _If only I knew what my heart was telling me  
_ _Don't know what I'm feeling, is this just a dream?  
_ _Ah-oh, yeah_ _♪_

 _♪_ _If only I could read the signs in front of me  
_ _I could find the way to who I'm meant to be  
_ _Ah-oh, if only  
_ _Yeah_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Am I crazy?  
_ _Maybe we could happen, yeah  
_ _Will you still be with me when the magic's all run out?  
_ _If only I knew what my heart was telling me  
_ _Don't know what I'm feeling, is this just a dream?  
_ _Ah-oh_ _♪_

_♪_ _If only I could read the signs in front of me  
_ _I could find the way to who I'm meant to be  
_ _Ah-oh  
_ _If only, yeah_ _♪_

 _♪_ _If only, yeah  
_ _If only, yeah  
_ _If only, if only  
_ _If only_ _♪_

Lytha ended the song and opened her eyes again. "Phew, it's nice to sing a lot after so long."

"I gotta say, again, you are pretty talented in singing!" Selene said.

"Thanks, I normally sing what I'm feeling," Lytha said. "Singing just helps calm me down."

Noah pushed himself off the wall. "I'm glad you have that outlet."

"Singing and dancing can both be very graceful and help you to calm down, for sure," Selene agreed.

"So, Noah, why are you _really_ here?" Lytha asked.

"..." Noah was silent for a moment. "I, uh... Evanee kicked me out."

"...What did you do?" Lytha asked.

Noah explained the trivial (but funny, at least to Lytha) event to them as they exited the stage and quietly left the school grounds.


	30. In Which Prince Alex's Guards Confront Marilee

Marilee left class for the day as she stretched a little. She was improving on her dancing and did her best to take everyone's advice on how to move better. The ravenette decided to head to her dorm and get started on her homework.

When she reached the school entrance, the guards suddenly stood in front of Marilee, staring at her. She stopped and looked up at them. "Um, yes? Can I help you?"

The guards parted to make way, and from behind them the prince walked up to Marilee.

The girl did her best to not look nervous as she tilted her head. "Hi, can I help you?"

"Yes, may I ask if you have seen a maiden with orange-red hair and green eyes recently?"

"Lytha? No. Haven’t seen her," Marilee answered.

"You said her name... please tell me, have you seen her! Where is she hiding?!" The prince grabbed Marilee by the shoulders.

Marilee suddenly let out a caw from the sudden grab, and tried to move away. "Don't just grab people! That's rude! Also, I haven't seen Lythie since she left town weeks ago! Caw!"

The prince let go of Marilee. "Is that so...? Fine, then, you may leave."

The prince whispered to the guards to have his people keep an eye on this girl. Marilee let out a shrill bird-like screech as she hurried back to her dorm.


	31. In Which Selene and Lucy Discuss Prince Alex

Selene arrived at the cafe once again, quietly sitting down at the table she previously sat on. Lytha, still in her disguise, suddenly ran into the cafe. Seeing her, Selene was kind of confused but stayed quiet.

"I... am not... doing that... again... huff," Lytha gasped, sitting down beside Selene.

"Well, it certainly looks like you just escaped somebody again..." Selene whispered.

"Yeaaaah," Lytha said. "I swear, he is everywhere."

"He does seem really annoying."

"And to think I had a childhood with him," Lytha muttered.

"That is not the best childhood to have..."

"Tell me about it -- at this point I'm glad Drosselmeyer took those memories."

"And trying to convince the prince is also not possible, is it?" Selene said. "As you said before, Evanee tried to, but..."

Then, Lucy entered the café. Lytha turned toward the door to see Lucy enter. "Hey, look it's Lucy."

Not seeing Selene or Lytha, Lucy sat down on an empty table, thinking. Selene walked up to Lucy.

"Oh, hey Selene," Lucy said.

"Hey! Anything happen lately?" Selene asked.

"Did you see that weird prince at the school?" Lucy asked.

"I did, and I very well know who he is looking for."

"Indeed. But I haven't seen her in a while, so..."

Lytha walked up to Lucy. "Yo!"

"He is quite annoying, honest--huh?" Lucy looked at Lytha in puzzlement.

Selene looked at Lucy. "Let me explain..." She quietly explained the entire situation.

"Ugh, looks like I was not wrong with him being annoying," Lucy said in a low voice. "Either way, that is a good disguise. Although, who knows how long it will work..."

"I know," Lytha whispered. "I might have to change my disguise every week."

"Well, that may be better. But how long will you have to disguise yourself? When will that so-called prince leave?" Lucy asked.

"Who knows, but he is very determined to find me," Lytha said.

"What makes him sure you're here in this town?"

"No idea..." Lytha replied. "Also, he is coming to the cafe five days from now. Apparently, Evanee told him that she is the only hope for finding me."

"Then it may not be the best idea for you to be here when that day arrives..."

"Yeah... but I want to be here anyway."

"I guess I cannot stop you then..." Lucy trailed off. _I guess I'll be there too when the time comes. Just in case._

"So, how have classes been, Lucy?"

"Uhh, class? It was good!" Lucy said. "I focused relatively more than usual today."

"That's good," Selene said.

"I can't go back to school until the prince leaves," Lytha said.

"That is unfortunate. But you are not missing much. Everything's the same as usual," Lucy replied. "Also, surprisingly, I saw Marilee in the school. Did she enroll?"

"Yep, she did," Lytha replied.

"I am happy for her," Lucy said.

"Yep, me too." Lytha stood up. "I better get back to Evanee and Noah now, see you guys next time!"

"See you later!" Lucy said while Selene waved goodbye.

Lytha waved back and left the cafe.


	32. In Which Lytha Has a High Fever

_A few days later..._

Lytha was laying on the sofa with a high fever. "Ooooh, my head hurts..."

Noah burst into the door. "You're sick?! Since when?!"

"Oh, welcome back, Noah," Lytha said. "And I'm fineeee..." Lytha tried to sit up only to flop back onto the sofa.

"That's not what I said. _How_ did you get sick?"

"I think I was over-using magic the past few days..."

Noah sighed. "Evanee is worried, and if she finds out about your magic as the cause, she'll kill one or both of us."

"Hahaha... sorry, but these past few days, the prince was getting irritating," Lytha said.

"Then stop going out of the house."

"I need to walkkkkk..." Lytha started coughing heavily. "Damn...."

Noah sighed, grabbing his handkerchief from his breast pocket and holding it in front of Lytha's mouth while holding her neck. Lytha looked at Noah with a questioning look.

"I took care of my sister whenever she was sick back at home," Noah said. "At the moment, I'm testing your temperature."

"Oh... okay."

"Have you coughed up anything of color?"

"...Nooooo," Lytha said hazily.

"Okay, good, it’s not a magic tonic. How about your dreams, have you been having any strange dreams?"

"...No..."

"That removes voodoo. Any hives?"

"No..." Lytha replied. "I'm sure the fever is normal, Noah."

"Lytha, now that you are using magic, no fever of yours will be normal." He turned away. "Trust me, I know."

Lytha coughed again. "So how is my temperature?"

"It's pretty bad, but nothing I can't deal with."

"Since when did you become a doctor?" Lytha asked jokingly.

Noah looked down. "Since my family needed one." He cleared his throat. "Okay, what do you need?"

"Water... please," Lytha was breathing heavily and was sweating a lot.

Noah quickly ran over to a barrel of water and poured her some, rushing back to give it to her.

"Thanks..." Lytha drank the cup of water and laid down on the sofa. "I will be fine, Noah, I just need sleep."

And no sooner had she said this, Lytha nodded off and fell asleep.


	33. In Which Leo Arrives and Cures Lytha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Leo (created by Seraphina)

A few days later, Evanee wiped down the tables with a satisfied smile; she was glad to be working again. Apollo Bare walked into the dining area to check on everything, nodding contently at the sparkling clean tables. He thanked Evanee, but also told her to take it easy since she had just recovered from an injury. Lucy was sitting at one of the tables in the mostly empty cafe.

Lytha walked into the cafe but looked a little off -- her face was red and she was moving in a weird way. She went and sat at a window seat. "......"

“Hey, you two!” Evanee grinned at the two of them, tossing the rag she was holding into its bin.

"Hey... Evanee," Lytha said.

"Oh, hey," Lucy said.

Evanee looked at Lytha. "You were asleep when I left this morning -- you okay?"

Lytha waved it off. "I'm fine..." She coughed.

"Sure you're fine? Doesn't seem like it..." Lucy said.

"I'm fine..." Lytha coughed again. "Promise..."

"Did you catch a cold, or a fever...?" Lucy asked.

"She has a fever, I bet," Evanee sighed.

"Noooooo..." Lytha moaned.

"A weaker voice and coughing do not equal 'fine"'..." Lucy said.

"I'm fine, really," Lytha said. "I think I should go take a walk or something..." Lytha stood up so quickly that her vision suddenly became blurry.

"You better go somewhere calm; maybe to Evanee's house, I don't think she has anything against it," Lucy said. "The guards and that stupidly annoying prince shouldn't know that you could be there, so..."

"Maybeeeeee I should do that," Lytha said with another cough. "I'm going to go home and just sleep so that I will feel better." She was swaying from side to side as she was walking.

"I don't think home is a good idea, considering the guards will probably wait there for you--"

"I meant, Evanee house....I will be fineeeeee--" Lytha banged into a wall. "Ouch... still fine."

Lucy thought, _That girl... I am kinda worried about her. And more worry is not what I need right now..._ "Good..." she said. "Get well soon."

"I will get better after some sleep... hopefully... see yaaaa," Lytha said before leaving to go back to Evanee's house.

"Bye..." Lucy said.

"That girl," Evanee shook her head, grabbing another towel and wiping Lytha’s spot.

"Yeah, sometimes she's a bit too naive. But at least she's being careful..." Lucy said.

"Pfft, she’s not too careful at all," Evanee remarked. "Caring? Yes. Careful? Nope."

"But at least she tries to hide. That prince is a major annoyance..."

"Tell me about it," Evanee sat down across from Lucy. "How are you, by the way? It’s been a bit."

"Yeah, it sure has been a while. I'm doing fine, thank you for asking," Lucy replied.

After some small talk with Lucy, Evanee went back behind the counter.

A short time later, a young man with black hair and vermilion eyes stalked into the cafe and sat by a window. In sullen silence, he took out a book on magic and began reading it.

Apollo Bear walked over to the new customer. "Hello and welcome, I will be your server today. How many I help you, mister...?"

"It's Leo," the young man said before looking up at the polar bear. "Can I get a black coffee and a tiramisu?"

Apollo nodded walked back to the kitchen.

"I need more info on Drosselmeyer for my report," Leo muttered. "I've got to convince my parents that I've been making progress in my magic history studies, or else they'll start haranguing me about getting a girlfriend again. Who would know about that man in this town...?"

He turned to the girls sitting nearby. "Excuse me, ladies -- but can I ask if you know where I could find books on a man named Drosselmeyer?"

"You mean that old storywriter man? Sorry, I unfortunately do not know," Lucy replied.

"I see..." Leo trailed off.

Lucy finished her meal and left the cafe.

Apollo came back out with his coffee and tiramisu, and placed it down in front of Leo. "Your order, sir."

Leo turned back to Apollo. "Ah, thank you. Hey, can I ask if you know anything about a man named Drosselmeyer?"

"Drosselmeyer? Hmm...Well, he is a writer who was born here in Goldcrowne. There's a couple of books by him in the bookstore next door. You can also check out the school library if you wish, but you will need to get to the academy campus. As it so happens, an employee of mine has a cousin who loves to research stuff about the town, and about Drosselmeyer. How about you go look for him if you have a chance?"

"Oh, what's his name?"

"His name is Autor, and tell him that Apollo had sent you -- don't want him to get scared that you are stalking him. Just fair warning, he likes to talk, so make sure you are at a comfortable place when you meet him."

"Thank you for that info," Leo said briefly. "I'll look him up after I leave."

Evanee came back out after a while, approached the unfamiliar customer, and smiled. "Welcome in; you're a new face," she said.

"I just arrived two days ago," he replied as he drank his coffee and took a bite out of the tiramisu.

"Well," she put her tray on her hip, "nice to meet you," She extended her hand. "I'm Evanee."

Leo shook her hand. "The name is Leo -- Leo Knightwalker."

"Knightwalker? What an interesting last name," Evanee looked down at the empty seat next to him. "Mind if I sit?"

"Go ahead," he replied.

"So, what brings you to Kinkan?" Evanee smiled, resting her head on her hands.

"I'm here to research a magic user named Drosselmeyer," Leo said somewhat distantly, continuing to drink his coffee.

Evanee rolled her eyes. "Of course you are." Did the cute ones always have to be obsessed with something she didn't enjoy? "Well, Leo, you've come to the right place."

"You know things about Drosselmeyer?" he asked.

"That I do," she said, taking her journal from her apron. "In fact, I'm his great-great-whatever-grand-niece."

Leo's eyes widened. _His descendant? She's sure to have tons of information! I could have my report done in no time!_ Excitedly, he grabbed Evanee's hands. "Please do tell me about Drosselmeyer and his magic."

Just then, Noah entered the cafe, at first holding it open for Lytha to come through, but then letting go as he saw Evanee and the stranger holding hands. Lytha stepped into the cafe to see the scene. "Hohoho..."

Evanee looked down at his hands and raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Word of advice, be careful not to be too desperate for info around these parts, especially in matters concerning Drosselmeyer."

"And why is that?" Leo asked, puzzled.

"He was a cruel man, and even after death, was one who bound people in deals when they found themselves desperate. Be ever so..." Then she spotted the other two enter the cafe. "Lytha! Noah!"

Lytha walked up to the pair. "Sorry to interrupt, you two!!" Lytha exclaimed. "So, who is this handsome man?" she whispered to Evanee.

Noah walked up behind Lytha with his arms crossed, a neutral look on his face.

Evanee gave out a small huff of denial, removing her hands from Leo's. "Lytha, Noah, I'd like you to meet Leo -- he's new in town, looking for information about Drossy."

Lytha extended her hand to Leo. "Hi, I'm Lytha."

Leo shook Lytha's hand with a smile, only to pause with concern. "Miss Lytha, you are sick."

"Ummmm, yes, but it's just a normal fever," Lytha said.

Noah, amidst the exchange, slid into the seat next to Evanee, watching her eyes follow Leo.

"Lytha... you better be in a good enough condition to not send this café into havoc, after how you were earlier today," Evanee said.

Lytha pouted. "I am..."

"You are a magic user, am I correct?" Leo asked.

"Yes..." Lytha replied.

"What good detection skills," Evanee smiled, signaling Lytha to also sit down.

"But you were not born with magic; instead, you were given magic."

Lytha sat beside Leo and nodded.

"The reason you're ill right now is that you must have exhausted your mana reserves by over-using your magic."

"I'm sorry, what? Lytha!" Evanee sighed. "I warned you not to go overboard, and look at what you go and do!"

"Meep, I'm sorry!" she said to Evanee, before turning to Leo and asking, "How... did you know?"

"I'm a magic user by birth, and from a long line of mages. I know mana sickness when I see it," Leo replied.

"That's very... impressive, Leo," Evanee remarked.

"Thanks," he said plainly. "You're lucky it's not worse, Miss Lytha. When most people exhaust their mana, they get sick with much more than a high fever."

"Hahaha... oops," Lytha said sheepishly.

"So, you study magic, too," Noah says in a monotone voice.

"Yes, since childhood," Leo replied.

"Right, because you were born with it," Noah said.

Leo turned to Lytha. "You'll need to replenish your mana reserves to be able to recover. Normally you'd have to rest for a long while, though..."

"...But I don't know where I'd get more mana," Lytha said.

Leo placed his forehead against Lytha's. She blushed a deep red. "Now, focus..." Leo started to glow with a faint green light, and soon Lytha began glowing the same color.

Lytha felt something flowing into her, and after several seconds, she blinked and sat up straight. "Hey, I feel better..."

Leo moved away from Lytha and smiled. "I gave you some of mine so you'd recover quicker."

"Look, Evanee, I'm fine now!" Lytha smiled.

Evanee raised her eyebrows. "Well, that's _incredibly_ impressive."

Leo turned back to Evanee. "So, Miss Evanee, do tell me more about Drosselmeyer." Lytha froze at the sound of the name.

Evanee smiled. "Well, as you probably know, he was a Spinner long ago. Most powerful of his kind, even after death."

Leo took out a notebook from his bag and began jotting down what Evanee was saying.

"His magic of Spinning is to make stories come to life, which I also have, but his is much more impactful and powerful."

"Interesting... I didn't expect to find one of Drosselmeyer's descendants," Leo said.

"There are two others in town actually, and I'm..." Evanee paused, giving a little giggle. "Not really a direct descendant."

Lytha noticed Noah's foul mood and giggled, whispering to Noah with a playful grin, "Jealous?"

Noah frowned at Lytha. "I am not."

Lytha made a cat smirk. "You sureeee?~"

"I see, and who are the other two?" Leo asked.

"Ah, Fakir and Autor. I'd be happy to tell you what you need to know, but Autor knows a lot about him, too. Fakir has inherited his powers. And I... well, I'd be happy to tell you about mine, perhaps on my day off during a cup of coffee?"

"..." Noah got up abruptly, storming out the door.

Lytha was silent. "......."

"I accept your invitation; when is your next off day?"

"Wednesday, two days from now." She smiles brightly, looking over at Lytha's slightly stunned face. "Lytha? What happened to Noah? Did something happen back at the house?"

"I... think you should ask him yourself," Lytha replied.

Evanee frowned. "Sorry, Leo, excuse me for a second."

"I will be here when you get back," Leo said.

Evanee got out of her chair and opened the door, motioning for Noah to come back in. He walked back into the cafe, tapping his finger against his crossed arms. "What?" he spat.

While Lytha and Leo made small talk about magic in the background, Evanee asked, "Noah, what is wrong with you? Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine," Noah said.

"No, you aren't. You're acting strange. Passing up the opportunity to flirt with a new, attractive stranger is unlike you."

"Don't."

"Don't what?" Evanee rested her hand on his arm. "Noah..."

"Just don’t..." he sighed, grasping her hand in his for a quick squeeze and letting it go. "I'll see you at home," he said, turning away.

"What? Noah, wait--" Evanee bit her lip, not bothering to run after him while she was still on shift. She walked back to the table, sitting back down across from the others. "What in the world is his issue?"

"Welcome back, Evanee... um, where is Noah?" Lytha asked.

She shrugged. "Beats me, he ran off all moody, I have no idea what's wrong with him."

"Poor Noah," Lytha sighed.

"What... happened?" Evanee asked.

"That is up to Noah," Lytha said.

"Ever so cryptic... Anyways, I gotta get back to work, you two have fun. See ya later, Leo," Evanee said. With a wink and a smile, Evanee tightened her ponytail and headed into the back.

"Miss Lytha, if you want, I can teach you some magic," Leo said, continuing their prior conversation.

Lytha turned to Leo with sparkling eyes. "Really?! Please?!"

"I still don't know my way around here. Miss Lytha, would you be so kind as to show me around the town?"

Lytha pointed at herself. "Oh? Sure, come on!"

She grabbed Leo's hand and shouted toward the employee's area, "Evanee!! See you back home, okay?!"

"Yep!" she yelled out.

Lytha and Leo walked out of the cafe, talking happily.


	34. In Which Sagi Confides in Dr. Crou

One afternoon, Sagi made her way to a structure in the town she had heard of called "the prodding bridge". Supposedly it was a place to ponder questions you were mulling over. It sounded like a good place for a quiet excursion, so she stood upon the bridge and looked out over the small stream thoughtfully.

Nearby, Dr. Crou was enjoying the stroll outside on his day off. As he wandered about the town, he heard the sound of the stream and decided to follow it.

When he got to an opening, he noticed a tall young girl standing upon a bridge. "Good afternoon," Dr. Crou greeted her, recognizing her as one of the customers that frequented the cafe.

Hearing the greeting, Sagi turned toward the new voice, and her eyes widened slightly with recognition. "Hello -- oh, you work at the cafe, right? I've seen you about, but I don't think we've ever officially met." She gave a small head nod, as if informally bowing. "My name is Sagi. What should I call you?"

"Pleasure to meet you, Sagi. You can call me Dr. Crou." He decided to take off his hat and bow after her, to return the courtesy. "What brings you here to this bridge? You looked like you were contemplating something."

"Hmmm..." Sagi said, glancing out at the tributary again for a moment. "A number of things, I suppose... some of it related to the cafe, actually." She looked at back him and asked, "You've been working at the cafe for some weeks now, is that right? How long had you been in this town before you started working there?"

"For only a few days. I got the job at the cafe as soon as I arrived here, which I am very thankful for. Apollo, my manager, is a really great guy. Excellent chef. But I don't think that's what you were worried about." Dr. Crou looks at her curiously, wondering what about the cafe that could she be thinking about.

Sagi shook her head briefly. "No, you're right. I was just thinking... I had been talking with another cafe customer named Lucy a while ago about how the cafe seemed to have... simply appeared here, one day. And since it's appeared, things have been... eventful. Much more eventful than they have been the past year."

"Hmm... does it worry you?"

Sagi furrowed her bow. "I wish I could say it didn't, but..." She paused. "Even recently, someone else who works at the cafe said that it appeared here as a result of her magic -- or she reasonably inferred it, at least. And then, with that same person, there was quite a frightening event that involved her and some other new people I'd met at the cafe, as well as...." She trailed off. "You know of a young visitor of the cafe named Odin, correct?"

"The little fledgling? Yes. Adorable trickster." Dr. Crou nodded.

Sagi smiled slightly, seeing that he seemed to be quite familiar with Odin. "Yes. I don't think I have anything to fear at the moment, but... I can't help but worry about him."

She hesitated, not sure of how much to reveal about the situation. "He's... it's hard to explain, but... he reminds me very distinctly of someone I knew. Someone who... suffered such things that I would never want that child to have to go through."

A bit confused due to her vague answer, Dr. Crou tried to deduce her concerns. "Are you are worried that Odin will go on that same painful path that your friend had took?"

Sagi looked downward forlornly. "I... I suppose you could put it that way, yes. I know they're not the same person, but.... well, I.... I have reason to believe that they are very, very similar. Enough that I can't help but see bits of him in Odin at times, and it just..."

Sagi closed her eyes, a strange mix of fondness and melancholy in her expression. "I find myself wanting to protect the child, somehow... but I feel like I'm not in a position to do that right now."

Dr. Crou looked at her, very much puzzled and uncertain at the meaning of her words. He did not know why she couldn't help Odin, whether from circumstance or something else, but perhaps it was something that she could not share. And seeing how worried she was, perhaps she was right, that Odin might face terrible suffering in the future.

A dreadful feeling sunk into his stomach. He was very much fond of the boy. This made him concerned, very much concerned.

It got him thinking about when they first met, remembering that Odin mentioned a human told him that his world was a story created by Drosselmeyer. Based on his personal knowledge of the gang, albeit it was a brief meeting, this world's Autor was probably the one who told Odin that information. Perhaps he would need to start there.

"I... am very fond of Odin, I must admit," Dr. Crou finally replied. "I will not force you to share what you know, about your friend or his connection to Odin. And I am not in any position to make promises... but I will try whatever is within my power to watch over him the best I could."

Sagi looked at Dr. Crou with a worried smile. "I'm glad he's found a companion in you. Perhaps he truly would do best confiding in someone of his own kind. Someone who probably can relate to his experiences more than I could."

She clasped her hands together, almost as if to implore him. "Please watch over him whenever you are able. Be there for him when he might stray into somewhere most others dare not follow. It might be much to ask, but... I think it will make all the difference to him."

"I will have done so, regardless," Dr. Crou solemnly replied.

Sagi's smile widened into one of glad relief. "Thank you, Dr. Crou. I'm not sure how much my feelings matter to Odin, as he barely knows me, but either way... I, too, wish dearly for his happiness, and would do what I could for him, if I only knew how."

"I am sure if he got to know you better, he will care for you too. Take your time in getting to know him and I'm sure he will open up."

"I suppose so," Sagi said with a soft nod. "All the more reason to stop by the cafe more, then," she added with a small grin.

"Yes, the more the merrier," Dr. Crou said. At that he paused for a moment, as if he remembered something. "Oh, regarding the café, was there something else you were concerned about? That was the first thing you brought up when expressing your concerns."

Sagi frowned slightly. "Well, regarding what I had talked about with a customer at the cafe named Lucy... I was discussing with her and another young lady about what they knew of what had happened in this town, as they had lived in it for quite some time already. And I discovered that not only did I remember major events that they did not, but that the two of them remembered events differently from each other as well."

"Huh, strange. I suppose that is concerning... We will need to keep in mind that perhaps the citizen's memories here have been tampered with."

Sagi trailed off pensively. "Yes... for all I know, my memories may have been tampered with, too; but thus far, I haven't been told of anyone remembering any events I did not. I haven't had much chance to look more into this, and I fear I'm not very good at that kind of investigation..."

"Hmm, I see. And I'm just an outsider looking in. We cannot do much about it right now, I'm afraid. But it doesn't seem to affect your daily life, does it?"

Sagi sighed, shaking her head. "Indeed it doesn't, which is why despite all of that, I'm still going to school each day and spending free time at the cafe, like nothing's wrong at all. But, from my experience, if you don't keep an eye on your surroundings, you won't avoid trouble; trouble will find its way to you."

"True. But there is no use in worrying over something that may be nothing. Just be alert like you have been." Dr. Crou pulled out his pocketwatch to check the time. "Well, I had a good talk with you, Miss Sagi. I look forward to seeing you at the café next time you stop by."

Sagi nodded her head as she had in greeting him. "Likewise, Dr. Crou. I hope I'll be seeing you again sometime soon." And with that, Sagi said a brief farewell before turning around to head back to the dorms.

Dr. Crou continued on his afternoon stroll -- this time, thinking about making a visit to a particular annoying human with glasses.


	35. In Which Autor Tells Dr. Crou Odin's Untold Story

Dr. Crou's shift was over and the sun hung low in the sky. Thoughts of the girl Sagi lingered in his mind, with her contemplative look and worry for Odin making him uneasy.

He made his way to a white house with yellow accents, looking at the building with intensity as if he was honing in on something. He approached and rapped on the wooden door.

Sitting at the desk while buried in his research, Autor heard the knocking and glanced up with confusion. He hadn't been anticipating the arrival of anyone in particular...

He headed for the front door and opened it, blinking at the unexpected visitor. "Dr. Crou? What are you doing here?" He cocked an eyebrow. "...And how did you find my place?"

"Afternoon, Autor," Dr. Crou replied cheerfully, lifting up his hat. "I tracked your magic; hopefully you don't mind. I wanted to ask around, but decided it was easier to look for you myself. I am in need of your knowledge, and perhaps I can exchange it with some of mine."

Autor's eyebrows raised at the mention of his magic. "Wait... you could sense my magic enough to track me down with it?!" he said, grinning, as he looked inordinately excited at the prospect. "Well, I can't help it if my magic is just too noticeable to hide for someone with discerning senses."

He adjusted his glasses. "I've been meaning to ask you more about your world anyway, and there's no time like the present." He backed away from the door and swept his hand inside with pointed courtesy. "Come in, come in -- sit where you feel comfortable. We might be here a while."

"That will be for certain," Dr. Crou's voiced dropped as he seemed to recollect a similar event in his past.

He made his way inside, settling in to sit by a quaint coffee table. Dr. Crou looked around, noticing some rather vintage furniture and artifacts in the room. "I didn't know your grandparents decorated your house."

Autor crossed his arms indignantly. "Excuse me, these are _authentic_ replicas of Drosselmeyer's work desk while he was living -- well, _our_ world's Drosselmeyer, anyway." He adjusted his glasses again smartly. "Though, if you consider that he's a relative of mine, maybe you _could_ say a grandparent of sorts decorated it.

"But enough about that," Autor said, sitting down at a chair nearby, facing the doctor. "Something prompted you to track me down all the way here, and I'm very much curious as to what that is."

"Well, a few things prompted this meeting. One was a meeting just the other day, with a girl named Sagi. She was at a bridge contemplating and told me about her concerns, which were about several things actually, but one thing in particular was about the fledgling Odin."

At the name Odin, Autor's face sobered. "Ah, right... _that_ boy," he said seriously. "And you say Miss Sagi was concerned about something regarding him?"

Dr. Crou was a little surprised when Autor's expression changed upon mentioning the boy's name. He made note to hold this conversation more seriously than he had thought. "Yes, she was worried for him, saying how she knew someone who was similar to him or the like. She was roundabout about that issue, but the main thing is that she feared a similar suffering that would befall Odin."

Autor pursed his lips, glancing sidelong for a moment. "I suppose she of all people would be worried, considering..." he muttered to himself, before turning back to Dr. Crou and replying, "Well, I can tell you that she didn't lie to you. It _is_ because of someone very similar to him, who... let's say, we've clashed a number of times with quite fiercely."

Autor took a deep breath. "Hmm... I suppose I'll have to start off from the basics." He stood up and walked to a bookshelf next to him, and began sifting through it as he talked. "You're aware of how the stories Drosselmeyer wrote came to life in this town, yes?"

"Correct, I was present when you gave your lecture to Noah that time at the cafe."

"Right, then going from that," he continued, finding the tome he was looking for. He deftly plucked it off the shelf and began flipping pages. "I suppose then it won't come as much of a shock to you that little Odin is from one of said stories by Drosselmeyer, in this case from one of the short stories in this collection," Autor said, finding the page he was looking for and placing the book on the coffee table in front of Dr. Crou.

"Granted, he isn't named in the story, but you can see from the title illustration the two principle characters -- a young soldier, and a little raven." Autor pushed his glasses up. "You may wish to peruse the short story yourself, as it's a quick read, but I'll sum it up for you either way."

Dr. Crou looked intently at the illustration, the words "soldier" and "raven" causing him to remember the Soldiers of his home world. A bit of rage started to bubble up in his chest at the memory, but he decided to quell it, for it is neither here nor there. He nodded at Autor to continue.

"Now, the basics of the story are, the young soldier is utterly spent by the wars and atrocities he's been through, and can't stand to live any longer. But before he goes through with suicide, a little raven appears to him, and wanting to relieve him of his pain somehow, offers to remove the source of his pain -- that is, his very heart."

"HE DID WHAT--??!!" An uncharacteristic shout came out of Dr. Crou as he jumped to his feet, nearly toppling over the coffee table. Autor flinched for a moment upon the outburst, startled at the sudden exclamation.

The logical side of Dr. Crou's brain told him that it was a story in a very different world, that the implications of what the little raven had done might be different from what he is thinking. Perhaps he was overreacting, and needed to calm down. But the rage that had bubbled up in his chest almost exploded when he heard that a 'Heart' was taken from a human body by a raven.

After the shock of the moment passed, Autor took a deep breath and gazed solemnly at Dr. Crou. "...Of course, it uses the meaning of 'heart' to be the seat of the soul in this case," Autor added. "The core of emotions. The feelings within them. It's a theme that is used more than once in Drosselmeyer's writings, and this was certainly not the last time it was used."

"I know what that means--!" Dr. Crou brushed his hand to the side, as if to dismiss Autor's reply. "I know you did not mean he took out his literal heart out! In a world full of magic, that would be one of the main reasons to use a Heart, considering it is the main vessel and source of one's natural magic!" he exclaimed.

Autor closed his eyes. "Well, once the little raven does so, the rest of the story follows the soldier as he lingers, heartless and emotionless -- and with morbid irony, is lauded an exemplary soldier, until one day he dies on the field, without suffering, or feeling anything at all. Despite all that, the fate of the raven who _took_ the heart remains unstated."

"To think, why am I not surprised he would absolutely write this! Ugh! That is just so like him!" Dr. Crou collapsed back into his chair, with his hands to his face.

Autor closed his eyes gravely. "You may wish to compose yourself before I continue. I'm afraid I'm not finished."

Dr. Crou took some deep breaths, unsure how much he could handle this. Knowing the Spinner personally in his world, Dr. Crou was sure this world's Drosselmeyer had masterminded something perhaps even more twisted that might have broken Odin as it did his own allegiance to his kin.

Taking a drink of water from the glass Autor soon prepared, he was finally ready to listen. Clearing his throat, he said, "Ahem. Sorry for my sudden outburst, may you please continue."

Autor nodded slowly. "Perhaps, needless to say at this point, and I was certain about it after I confirmed it with the boy, Odin is that very same little raven. Are you with me so far?"

"Yes," Dr. Crou replied.

Autor exhaled. "From here, the scope of this discussion spans farther from this humble short story, on to..."

He walked over to his desk, grabbed a book lying on top of one of the piles, and held it up. "...Drosselmeyer's final, formerly unfinished story, titled: 'The Prince and the Raven'. To get there, though, I need to tell you a story of something I had to have explained to me by Fakir, who only knew it himself through the visions of the Spinners' Oak Tree. In other words, truly, an untold tale."

Dr. Crou paused for a few moments. "The Prince and the Raven? That was the story Ahiru and Fakir told me that you all managed to defeat Drosselmeyer and the Raven."

"That's right," Autor said with a brief nod. "That's why I called it 'formerly' unfinished. The Prince and the Raven from the story came out in a very dramatic fashion to this world, and after many trials and tribulations, we concluded their battle here in this very town."

Autor folded his arms. "But you must be wondering how this relates to the little raven from the short story. After all, they _are_ two separate stories, aren't they? Such was what I thought, until I heard the story that connects them: that untold story I mentioned."

He cleared his throat. "First of all, know that the world in the short story and that in the Prince and the Raven are in fact one and the same. Remember how I mentioned that the little raven's fate in the short story was never stated? The story of what happened to that little raven is key to understanding how Odin is deeply related to all of that."

A deep dread sunk into Dr. Crou as Autor kept emphasizing that the two stories were connected. He couldn't do anything but nod to Autor's statements.

"Let me preface this with the fact that the following story has not occurred for the Odin with us today as of yet," Autor said. "It... would have been glaringly obvious if it had. I suspect Miss Sagi fears that such 'history', so to speak, will repeat itself, and that the story I'm about to tell you is Odin's ultimate fate."

"If Odin is from the short story written before 'The Prince and the Raven', and this untold story you will tell me now is what connects it all," Crou inquired, "you are saying that this tale and the Prince and the Raven are his possible future, if it were to run its natural course?"

"That's precisely what I'm saying, yes," Autor replied. "The untold story goes as follows:

"The little raven, now known as Odin, took the heart away from the soldier, but upon leaving his sight, realized he had no idea what to do with it. Try as he might, he could find no place to hide it away, to bury it from sight, as the emotions of someone suffering enough to throw their heart away are nigh like curses, haunting all those around it. Even though his friends -- a raven girl named Frigg, and another raven boy named Loki -- told him to destroy it, to rid them of it, Odin refused. Something about not being able to forgive himself if he destroyed 'such a beautiful shine' with his own hands."

Autor's lips tightened. "Yet inevitably, the rest of his roost-mates found it, and being the wondrous, shining thing it is, they began to squabble over it, who would get to have it. It was driving the whole roost into a frenzy, they were losing their minds over it -- Odin could see this, and knew that the presence of the cursed heart was to blame. So, he takes it away from his squabbling roost-mates, and declares that he will solve the problem himself. Then... he swallows the heart whole."

Dr. Crou was frighteningly silent. He hung his head and his eyes were dark, but in reality, he could barely contain all the emotions that were raging within him.

"This," Dr. Crou finally spoke, in barely a whisper, "was a decision Odin chose himself? Drosselmeyer didn't have a hand in any of it?"

Autor sighed. "This story was never written down, so no, I don't think he directed it personally. The only thing you could say was that he created that grim world he lived in, and Odin's actions were a natural consequence of it."

Dr. Crou was silent again, not bearing any emotion as Autor explained.

Autor's eyes closed grimly. "When the little raven swallowed that heart, something within him changed -- something terrible. His friends knew immediately something was wrong, and hurried to his side after he fled the rest of his roost-mates. Odin still looked like himself, talked like himself -- but the curses he consumed had inexorably tainted his heart. He put on a brave face, acting as if he was just fine; but no matter what he did, the curses in his heart would not abate.

"As a result, in a desperate impulse to alleviate the pain, when other humans appeared wanting their suffering to end, he took their hearts too, and swallowed them just the same."

Dr. Crou covered a part of his beak, as if he was holding in a gag. He felt sick, undeniably sick. His mind was crumbling when he heard Odin had swallowed the heart. He didn't know how similar curses from human hearts from his world were to hearts of this one, but if it was anything like the toxic auras that resentful hearts emanated, it was excruciatingly painful. And, was unfortunately something he had to witness befall onto others. Dr. Crou made no other comment, letting Autor continue.

Autor took a deep breath, seeming to have difficulty merely continuing the story. "This went on for years, and as he grew older, he slowly changed into a raven that was more monster than beast. His friends were at wits' end; he was barely the Odin they had known anymore. The girl raven, Frigg, attempted to intervene when he was about to face an army of soldiers out to rid the world of the monster haunting the battlegrounds -- but, she was cut down instead.

"Odin -- or perhaps, the Raven as the people of the land knew him now -- responded by tearing them apart. His remaining friend, Loki, confronted his old friend one last time, wanting to see some semblance of the Odin he knew -- but by then, 'the Raven' no longer even acknowledged 'Odin' as his name anymore. Before his former friend could vow to take him down one day, the Raven slew him on the spot. And so..."

Autor brushed aside his hair, discomfited at the tale he had just told. "That was how the Raven came to be. That was the same Raven who sought the Prince's heart in The Prince in the Raven. That's what Odin had become."

Dr. Crou looked down to the side, away from Autor. "I don't know why I was so surprised," he mused, folding his hands over his knees. "No wonder Sagi had worried for Odin, if this was to befall him in the future.

"That," Dr. Crou breathed out, "was a lot to take in, I must admit."

"As I said, this is but a _possible_ future, as it has not occurred for him yet," Autor emphasized. "His fate is yet unsealed. He may yet avoid this fate -- or perhaps, he already is in the process of changing it."

"What do you mean?"

Autor folded his arms solemnly. "I am almost certain that the Raven who attacked the town of Gold Crown had never been to this town before. Yet, the little Odin with us now has spent days, weeks here -- making other memories, forming new bonds. Perhaps... there truly is another way to end that tale," he said pensively.

Dr. Crou felt surprisingly uplifted, even for that moment. But another thought came into his mind. "Autor, Sagi mentioned a friend who Odin reminded her of... what does that mean, in this context?"

Autor sighed again, taking off his glasses and beginning to wipe them with a handkerchief as a nervous habit. "As for that... well, I told you that the Raven had emerged from the story with the Prince, and we defeated him. That, however, wasn't the end of it all. He came back, in human form.

"What exactly happened after that is a lengthy tale in of itself, but to put it shortly, that reborn Raven eventually became Sagi's friend. And yes, by the end of it all, he had drastically changed from who he had been. He started calling himself 'Odin' again, if that means anything."

"I see, so this world had already had these tales come to pass. Which would mean that you all have met an older Odin... Strange that we have another Odin that is from the past, or at least from a previous short story..."

Dr. Crou massaged his head, as it was all so much more than he could handle. He checked his pocketwatch and realized the time. "It is getting late. I will need to get going."

"Indeed," Autor said, adjusting his glasses matter-of-factly. "I'll take a raincheck on my interview about your world -- I suspect I'll want to conduct it when you're in a better state of mind to do so."

"Ah, I would very much appreciate that. Thanks," Dr. Crou agreed with a nod. "I will need quite some time to sort all of this out, if you do not mind?" he asked while getting up to leave.

"As long as you don't forget that you owe me that interview," Autor said pointedly as he escorted Dr. Crou to his front door. "For now, though, rest well." He paused. "This isn't an easy story to take in, after all."

"That is for sure. Good night, Autor."

"Good night," Autor said with a nod, before quietly closing his door.


	36. In Which Sagi and Odin Chat at the Cathedral Fountain

One day while walking around town after school, Sagi found herself passing by the cathedral, walking past its nearby fountain. She stood there for a moment, admiring the view of the relatively quiet town square for the time of day.

Odin had just popped into this world from the portal that regularly appeared here whenever he approached the one in his own world. He soon saw Sagi standing by the cathedral fountain, and walked toward her. "Oh, Sagi -- what are you doing here?"

Sagi turned toward the youthful voice. "Odin, you're here," she said, blinking briefly. "I hadn't seen you."

The raven boy shrugged carelessly. "Wouldn't have expected you to; I had just arrived." After glancing at her curiously, Odin sat with a hop down on the rim of the fountain. "Well, then -- what _are_ you doing here?"

Sagi shrugged sheepishly in return. "I was just out for a walk, and found myself here just now," she admitted.

Odin tossed his feet nonchalantly. "I suppose that means you don't have anywhere in particular to be right now?"

"I suppose not..." Sagi said, trailing off for a moment. "Hmm..."

Odin tossed his feet for a few moments, then he sighed pointedly. "Come on, spit it out," he said impatiently. "You want to say something, don't you?"

"Ah!" Sagi said, a little startled at the frank statement. "Umm, well..." She hesitated, and then almost blurted out, "Is--is it all right if we talk a little bit?"

Odin pursed his lips with slight frustration. "Was that so hard? And do you really have to ask if you can talk to me? What am I, the human Pope?"

"I--well, I mean... no, I didn't--" Sagi stammered, unsure how to respond. "I... I didn't mean to say... that I had to ask--oh, bother..." She sighed to herself with exasperation.

Odin's brow furrowed. "Calm down, lady. I'm not trying to scold you." He paused. "...Is something bothering you?"

The blue-haired girl clasped her hands together, and not wanting to embarrass herself any further, simply sat wordlessly next to Odin.

Odin exhaled quietly, deciding that perhaps he didn't need to say anything for the moment, and that Sagi would talk when she felt like it. So he just sat next to her, gazing up at the early evening sky.

The silence did serve to calm Sagi down, and so after several moments, she finally spoke. "Odin, how... how have you been doing lately?"

For a moment, the encroaching dilemma of the human's discarded heart arose in his mind, but pushing it back down stubbornly, he replied, "Not bad. Could be worse. You?"

"I mean..." Sagi started to say, then looking at Odin directly. "More specifically, I suppose... how is your life going? Is anything troubling you?"

The thought of the dilemma bobbed to the surface of his mind yet again, but pressing his lips together, Odin said, "...It's nothing other people need to worry about."

"Maybe not," Sagi said, now feeling a little more insistent, "but they might worry anyway."

Odin looked at her for a moment, a little surprised at the response. After a thought, he asked, "So... if you're worried about something... it's about me?"

Sagi hesitated again, but feeling more determined, she said, "Yes, I am worried about you. Not because of anything you've done, but... just from what I already know about you."

Odin paused. "...You know about the story I'm from, don't you?"

Sagi nodded gently. "You're... still trying to deal with that heart you received, right?"

"'Received'--?" Odin said, a little disconcerted at the phrasing. "I didn't exactly 'receive' it, I actually _took_..." He pursed his lips, realizing he was just admitting to what he had done. After figuring that Sagi probably already knew about it all anyway, he simply replied, "Well... yeah."

Sagi glanced off to the side with concern in her eyes. "As for why I'm bringing it up... I just... I just want to give you some advice. Or a suggestion. Or..." She pursed her lips, not liking any of the words she was coming up with. "...I just want to help you. Somehow."

Odin glanced back at her sidelong. "...You know something that could help me?" he asked. "You have some idea of what I should do?"

"I suppose... more of a warning, maybe. A cautionary word," she said, furrowing her brow. "I just want to say... particularly in this case, please don't do anything you can't take back. Something that can't be undone."

Odin frowned. "Easier said than done..." he said with a gloomy expression. "Right now, I'm just running away from the problem. Running, fleeing, escaping--just trying to get away from it. It feels cowardly, and I hate it."

"There are many times when the right way to go isn't clear to you at first," Sagi said, looking at him with concern. "In those cases, biding your time, waiting to find a better option that you can't see yet -- that's not cowardly. I... would call that wisdom."

"Wisdom? Really?" Odin said with a surprised frown. "I thought wisdom would have been knowing what to do in this situation right away, without all this uncertainty."

Sagi shook her head. "Wisdom is not merely knowledge or prescience; it's of knowing yourself, as well as the world around you, and the limits of both of those."

Odin pursed his lips again. "Well, I really don't feel like I know a lot about this situation, or what can and can't be done, much less what _I_ can do."

"Even knowing that you don't know something is wisdom as well," Sagi said with gentle encouragement. With the briefest of hesitations, Sagi placed a hand softly on Odin's shoulder.

The boy blinked, somewhat startled at the touch. He wasn't sure what to make of it, so he held back his uncertainty and tried not to react to it either way.

Sagi however sensed his subtle discomfort, and so drew her hand back promptly, placing it back in her lap with her other hand, looking down at them a little apologetically.

But Odin, too, noticed her discomfort in turn, and realized that perhaps she had interpreted his stoicism as disapproval, or even dislike. A little disappointed in himself, he bit his lip for a moment. After some moments passed, without thinking about it too much, he suddenly leaned to the side, resting himself on Sagi's arm. Finding it unexpectedly comforting, he closed his eyes for a moment.

Sagi's eyes widened when she realized Odin was quite literally leaning on her. Seeing him close his eyes, as if he were making himself comfortable, Sagi exhaled softly, with a vague smile on her face. Ever so gently, she touched the top of Odin's head with her farther hand's fingertips, and remained sitting there, letting the moment extend itself naturally to however long it would go.


	37. In Which Mytho, Komaro, and Marilee Have an Outing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Komaro (created by Tomoyo Ichijouji, from the fanfic "Chapter of the Bird")

One sunny afternoon, Mytho headed out from the quiet, empty school grounds, it being the weekend. He was expecting his little sister to be arriving any minute now at the Kinkan school gates, and he knew they hadn't had much chance to spend time together, what with classes and general busywork. He was hoping to change that.

Alongside him was his trusted chamberlain named Komaro, who was there to escort them to wherever they decided to go and make sure they had whatever they needed.

"Sire, are you sure you don't want any other escorts with you this afternoon?" Komaro asked him once again. "One can never be too careful when a pair of royal siblings are going out relatively unattended..."

"I'm sure, Komaro," Mytho said with an exasperated smile. "I have no reason to believe that we are in danger. Particularly if you are present with us."

He came to a stop at the school gate entrance, and waited alongside his head servant for Sigyn -- or, Marilee, as she went by often these days -- to arrive.

Marilee ran, her footsteps echoing in the hall as she headed toward the school gate. The girl skidded to a stop as she reached the entrance. In her satchel bag were some homemade cookies and chocolates she had made on her own. She had only just finished the frosting when she noticed the time.

She saw her big brother and someone else with him. "Big brother!" Marilee called, smiling.

Hearing the cheerful voice, Mytho turned toward Marilee and gave her a warm smile. "Good afternoon, sister. I'm so glad to see you."

The chamberlain gave Marilee a dignified bow. "Well met, Miss Marilee. I hope you are doing well this day. My name is Komaro, and I shall be attending to your needs today, whatever they may be."

The girl gave a smile to Komaro. "It's nice to meet you! And--oh!"

Marilee dug through her bag and pulled out the sweets. "I made these! Um, I wasn’t sure if you still liked cookies or chocolate, so I made both."

Mytho's eyes widened. "You made these all yourself? You're a very talented patissier, sister." He gave her another smile. "I'm sure I'll very much enjoy both of them."

"Shall I place them in the pantry for later consumption, or will you be enjoying these immediately?" Komaro asked the prince.

"What do you think, Marilee?" Mytho asked her. "Do you want to eat them together?"

The ravenette smiled. "We can eat it together," she answered.

She looked at Komaro. "You can have some, too!"

Komaro was taken aback somewhat by the offer. "I--well, I dare not shirk my duties to sit idly while I--"

Mytho stopped him before he could continue. "Komaro, Marilee's inviting you," he said with a pointed smile. "It would be rude to decline for no particular reason."

Komaro glanced at his master, sighed, and then said, "Very well, your Majesties. If you wish it, I shall join you. Where shall we go to make ourselves comfortable while we enjoy them?"

Mytho looked at Marilee. "Is there any place in particular you'd like to go?"

Marilee nodded her head. "We can enjoy them by the water fountain!"

Mytho glanced behind him at the swan fountain in the middle of the school campus. "A splendid idea," he said, smiling at Marilee. "Let us go there now."

With that, the three of them headed toward the benches around the water fountain.

As the prince sat down on the bench and began to take out the sweets in the bag, he asked Marilee, "What kind of flavors did you make? Milk chocolate? Dark chocolate? Or hazelnut, perhaps?"

"Oh, I made milk chocolate and white chocolate," she answered.

Mytho nodded with a smile. "Wonderful. I'm sure they will taste as delectable as they look." He picks out one of the white chocolates and takes a dainty bite of it. "Truly sublime," he said, closing his eyes. "Komaro, do try one."

"Yes, sire," Komaro said dutifully. He takes out one of the milk chocolates and puts it in his mouth. "...Very well mixed," Komaro commented as he chewed on it thoughtfully. "Smooth, but flavorful and a hearty texture. You really do have a talent for this, Miss Marilee."

The ravenette nibbled on a cookie as she smiled at this. "Thank you! I learned how to make these on my own. It was bit of trial and error," she said.

"Well, as they say, practice does make perfect," Komaro said with an approving nod. "Making confections such as this is not something to be learned overnight."

Mytho looked pensive. "For quite some time, I was not allowed in the kitchen, much less near ovens or stoves, because I was not in my right state of mind to avoid injuring myself. Now that my heart has been restored... perhaps one day I might try my hand at baking and the like."

The girl smiled at Mytho. "Maybe we can bake together?"

He glanced at her with widened eyes. "You would want to bake with me?" He smiled a little sheepishly. "I fear I am quite inexperienced in the kitchen, so you'd have to hold my hand at first... would I not get in the way?"

Marilee shook her head. "Nope. Everyone starts out as a beginner. Plus, it's fun to bake with someone else!"

"Normally, I'd caution against jumping into cooking without planning and training--but!" Komaro held up a hand before Mytho could protest. "Something like this is best accomplished through experience. And so, I shall volunteer myself as a safety spotter for whenever you two decide to undertake this endeavor."

Mytho's eyes widened. "Thank you, Komaro," he said with a relieved smile. Turning to Marilee, he asked her gladly, "Well, how about it then? Shall we set a date to start baking together?"

The girl smiled happily and nodded. "Yes! Ah, maybe tomorrow? Or how about next Saturday? I'll have plenty of time to get the ingredients needed. Oh, and what did you want to make?”

"Let's try next Saturday, so you can get the ingredients we need without rushing," Mytho nodded. "As for what to make... what do you think would be good for beginners?"

Marilee thought for a moment. "We can make cookies, bread, or a cake," she replied.

Mytho thought for a moment about what his princess, Rue, might want to eat for dessert. It was almost funny to think of him handing her something he had baked himself, but if he could...

"Let's try a cake," Mytho said with a decisive nod. "Komaro, please see to it that the culinarians' kitchens are prepared next Saturday for us to use."

The chamberlain nodded solemnly. "Consider it done, sir," he said with a nod, sincere to the point that he had unconsciously dropped his customary formality for that moment. "You will have everything you might need for tools and cookware, Miss Marilee."

Marilee nodded her head and smiled. "We'll do our best!"

Mytho smiled back at her, and after they finished eating their fill of the sweets, Mytho escorted Marilee back to her place out in town alongside Komaro, exchanging small talk with her along the way.

Marilee smiled as she led her brother and Komaro to her little attic apartment, skipping along. Sometimes she let out a caw.

When the three arrived just outside the apartment, he stopped and turned to her. "I'm so happy that we could spend time together today," he said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to next week, sister. Fare thee well until then."

Marilee smiled before hugging both Mytho and Komaro, much to the latter's surprise. "Thanks for today! I’ll see you guys soon. We’ll make the best cake ever!"


	38. In Which Dr. Crou Returns To His World to Reminisce and Reflect

In another universe where there were skyscrapers and busy traffic, Dr. Crou made his way to a secluded area of the city, towards the ruins of an abandoned factory complex. The buildings there were crumbling, with seared openings and large slashes made from something with large talons. The rubble from the aftermath of the Final Battle was still there and left untouched for months on end.

In one of the many dark and silent rooms, Dr. Crou walked through the shattered glass and toppled concrete. He really had no idea what he was doing here, but he couldn't just stay in Goldcrowne like nothing had happened either.

A few days ago, after the meeting with Autor and the revelation about little Odin's future, and learning of the things the Raven had done to that world, the story that Drosselmeyer had written, Dr. Crou had decided to go for a walk to ease his mind.

Down the cobblestone paths he had mindlessly walked, but hadn't realized he had made his way to the heart of the town. It had been hard to miss it, the old cathedral. But Dr. Crou hadn't realized where he had been going, with his mind heavy with thoughts of how all of this might change his relationship with the little crow.

He didn't want it to change, as he wished the best for Odin. But now his heart was filled with the rage and anger from the betrayal and resentment that the other world's Raven and Drosselmeyer had afflicted him with. And the Raven is Odin's possible future...

When Dr. Crou heard the bells toll from the old church, that was when he had finally sensed it. Coming from the church, not a few feet away from him, was an unfortunately familiar magic of a twisted kind along with the undeniably powerful magic of the old man -- the Raven's and Drosselmeyer's magic.

It shook him to the core, unsettling him. He almost fell to his feet. Usually he would have put up a protective shield around himself for occasions like this, but he had currently been in no state of mind to do so. He had tried to get as far away from the structure as fast as possible.

That morning, Dr. Crou had felt he needed time off -- perhaps going back to his world and doing some soul searching in a place more familiar. He had told Apollo that he would take a few days off to visit friends and returned back to his world through the portal between their worlds.

He had made some rounds to visit his friends back home, but didn't stay very long. His mind was anxious and his heart did not know peace.

A while later, he had found himself here, wandering toward the old factory buildings. It was his original home, the main hideout for his Drosselmeyer and all the other crows. The ones he had betrayed.

 _I guess I am still hung up about that,_ Dr. Crou thought as he made his way down another dark hallway of the building. He seemd to be walking aimlessly through the building, but deep down he knew he was making his way to his former department.

A part of him hoped to see his old friends again, to open a door and hear noisy crows telling each other jokes, maybe one of them coming up to him to have him patch up a wing they mangled during a battle. But he knew, as he continued through the collapsed hallway, that they were all gone. It didn't matter if the Swan Deity Tutu had wiped them out in the Final Battle. They were all gone once they were given the enhanced Raven's Blood.

All for the betterment of the crows, the Raven had said. Bull!@#$. Drosselmeyer wanted to see how far he could push the limits of his experiments! Manipulating humans before they died to create and extract cursed meta-hearts. Successfully having the Raven survive and completely consume that energy. Finding out that using the Raven's blood will allow other crows to absorb and host meta-hearts. Only for everyone to be painfully transformed into mindless beasts--!

Glass crunched underneath Dr. Crou's feet, snapping him out of his thoughts for a moment. He looked around and recognized where he was: it was an office floor that was turned into living quarters. It was his old nest.

The bittersweet feeling of nostalgia swelled in his heart. This was where he stayed with his wife, children and other nestlings. His wife, Olga, was a soldier and a darn good one too. His children Kai, Gerda, and Camilia were all so sweet fledglings. Domo and Pati were a battle pair and were one of the few who avoided the conversion and joined the other side with Dr. Crou. He listed a few more names in his head before remembering that none of them were here anymore.

He broke down the door to his former sleeping quarters. He looks around pensively, wondering how he could forgive the Raven or Drosselmeyer for taking away everything he loved. He had believed in them until his wife had been taken away and turned into the Heartless Soldier, which was an ironic name in itself.

And now, he is meeting with one alternate version of the Raven's past, from a fairytale no less. Oh, how much can his heart take any longer? He wishes at least his Olga was here, to help him through these troubled times that he has to go alone. Up until now, he had most of his friends to help him push through the pain, but as he was right now, he wasn't sure.

He then noticed a book he didn't recognize on the floor. It seemed like it was from his bookcase, as not many other crows liked to read as he did. Curious, he took a look at it and realized that it was a journal. And between its pages was a letter.

He felt his heart break as he recognized the familiar handwriting. It was from Olga. How had he missed this?

Though actually, it was very likely he had missed it because he had ran out of the hideout like a madman on his last day here. No matter, he needed to know what she had written.

It was a letter for him, and in her eloquent language, she wrote that she was trying to apologize for the fight they had about a few nights before. (Dr. Crou cried, because he didn't even remember what they were fighting about -- only that it was probably about something stupid.) She was worried about the new project that was coming about and what the future might hold because of it. She knew that Korvus would be able to survive the change easier than she could because of his amicable personality and his gentle yet discerning nature, allowing him to find trustworthy friends who could help him.

But she emphasized that she is a soldier, which made the likelihood of survival at the end of all of this very slim. So taking precautions (Dr. Crou knew that it was very much in her nature to make all the precautions, but that's what he liked about her), she had cryogenically frozen some of their eggs they were preparing to have. Dr. Crou had completely forgotten about this because he thought she hadn't laid them yet.

She ended the letter, saying if she didn't make it through this, he could have the journal she was keeping. It was a journal she had written of things she loved and brought her joy, of calm and gentle memories, to help her get through her rough Soldier's routine. She admired Korvus for all the horrors he faced on the battlefield while still able to be caring and gentle. The loss of their first children had been hard enough, and she wondered if he would be able to make it without her there. She hoped that Korvus would still be caring and gentle, and perhaps like that Swan Warrior who saved her, able to extend that kindness even to those who didn't deserve it.

By the end of the letter, Dr. Crou was on his hands and knees, bawling. He needed a good cry, especially from all the stress and pain from losing mostly everything, the weight and gravity of it all crashing down on him at that moment.

After what had been probably a few hours in that dark room, sitting in front of that letter, Dr. Crou wondered again if he was capable of being caring and gentle to those who had hurt him. If he had not known Odin's possible fate, or the consequences of it, he would have blissfully tried to take care of Odin and raise him as his own. Now that he knew, he feared the resentment in his heart might instead override any good intentions he had.

'But what is the point of placing all that anger and doubt on the child?' a voice came up in his head. 'He has yet to swallow the heart and become the Raven you have grown to hate. The little one deserves better.'

True, Dr. Crou agreed with his voice of reason. He knew that much. But he can't seem to completely separate the fact that little Odin is the Raven's past self. Not only that, there was an Odin out there who had become the Raven and fought the gang of this world. Even if that Odin had returned to the good side in the end, he actually _had_ committed those heinous crimes. How would Dr. Crou deal with that?

'You know already know what to do,' his voice of reason said, leaving a feeling of contentment behind in his heart.

Right. Dr. Crou took a deep breath. He thought, 'Separate those emotions and see it in a new light.' It was a chant he told himself during tough times, like now. Breathe. Place the rage and doubts to the side. Now, see in a new light.

Perhaps... Perhaps you could think of him as your child; think of him like Camilia. Camilia had ran away and joined the other side, did she not? But you still loved her during that time, watching over her from afar.

This child, Odin, had to and will face a difficult and dark path, like you had. His older self unfortunately had made a wrong choice, but he eventually came back to the light. He is not pure nor perfect, but you have a chance to love him the same. He deserves that chance. Both the past and the present deserve that chance.

Dr. Crou realized that both were experiencing pain and possibly felt alone in the world. But they needed to know that they are not. They do not need to be alone.

And these feelings of his? Well, Dr. Crou did not need to lash out from his own hurts, either. That would be immature. He is dealing with that and would be dealing with that from now on. But, he would not be alone. He would be with others and himself, taking care of one another each day.

He knew how much a little kindness healed, so he hoped he had enough strength to do so. He took another look at the letter, feeling the warmth from his wife's words and gaining renewed hope. Perhaps he had something to look forward to after all.

Dr. Crou took the journal with him and started heading deeper into the building, this time with newfound resolve for the future ahead of him.


	39. In Which Prince Alex Meets Evanee at the Cafe

Lytha walked into the cafe with her disguise and took her usual seat at the window. Not long after, Lucy walked into the café as well. Lytha noticed Lucy walking in and waved at her. "Lucy!"

Lucy noticed Lytha -- or rather, Lex -- and waved back, then headed toward her. "Hey! Is your fever gone?"

"Yep, I'm feeling a lot better after what Leo did."

"Glad to hear!"

Then Leo walked into the cafe. Lytha waved at him. "Hey, Leo!"

Leo noticed Lytha and walked up to her table, taking a seat beside her.

"So... guess today is the day, right?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah... oh, that's right, you two haven't met. Leo, this is Lucy; Lucy, this is Leo."

Leo extended his hand. "The name is Leo Knightwalker."

Lucy shook Leo's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"He was the one who cured my fever," Lytha added.

"With medicine or... magic?" Lucy asked.

"Magic," Lytha replied.

"Not surprised..."

"So, what's happening today that you two sound so cryptic about?" Leo asked them.

"You see... Lytha is hiding from somebody. Someone who claims to be a prince," Lucy said. "And that 'prince' may arrive in this café today."

"And why is she hiding from this prince?" Leo asked.

"Well, pretty much, that prince wants to marry her for some reason. She does not want to marry him, but the prince insists, and is two things for sure -- naive, and also annoying. The prince even stalked her into Gold Crown Town, and now he and his guards are looking for her wherever they can go."

"Couldn't you just tell him no?"

"That pea-brain prince doesn't understand the word 'no'," Lytha replied.

"What about telling him you already have a boyfriend?" Leo asked.

"Wellll... I would," Lytha whispered. "If only Noah wasn't jealous about what happened yesterday..."

"In that case, why not tell him you are already married?" Leo asked.

"That might work, but who is going to my pretend boyfriend?"

Leo pointed to himself.

"...Eh... ehhhhhhh!!!! But... but..." Lytha turned red and started mumbling to herself.

"I mean, I do not know Leo too well to judge, but I think this could work," Lucy said.

"But... but I just recently met him, and besides, I shouldn't be bothering him with my problems..." Lytha stammered, still blushing. Lucy sighed.

"I don't mind," Leo said.

"Ummm... I, ummmm..." Lytha stuttered again for a moment, and then gave in. "Oh, why not?"

"So, when is this prince coming?" Leo asked.

Just then, Marilee came into the cafe, who had decided to finish her homework there while getting a bite to eat. Lytha noticed Marilee and waved at her. "Marilee!!"

The ravenette smiled as she ran over to them. "Hello!"

"Leo, this is Marilee; Marilee, this is Leo," Lytha said.

Leo extended his hand. "The name's Leo Knightwalker."

The girl shook Leo's hand. "I'm Marilee! Nice to meet you!"

Apollo Bare came over to take everyone's orders, apologizing for the wait due to being short on staff.

Marilee shook her head at Apollo. "It's okay, Mr. Apollo," she said, and ordered her usual.

"I will have a cinnamon coffee and cheesecake," Lytha said.

"A black coffee and tiramisu," Leo said.

The polar bear nodded and went to the back to make their orders.

After some time, Dr. Crou came in through the café door. "Apollo, is that guest room still available?" he asked.

Then he noticed Lytha, Marilee, and this new stranger. "Oh, hello. You are Odin's friend, right? Miss Lytha, was that correct?"

"Ah, Dr. Crou, nice to see you again," Lytha said.

"Nice to see you, too. How are you all doing today?" Dr. Crou asked.

"Not that... happy," Lytha said hesitantly. "Well, you see, today is the day the prince is supposed to come."

"The Prince? You don't mean Mytho?"

"No, I meant Prince Alex."

"Was it that young man who Noah scared off by claiming he was your boyfriend?" Dr. Crou asked.

"Yep, him," Lytha answered.

"Oh, that's fun..." Dr. Crou remarked. "What was he after you for? Were you wanted for murder?"

"He is looking for me because he wants to marry me..."

"Huh... Human courtship sure is strange..."

Lytha clapped her hands. "Oh! Dr. Crou, this is Leo; Leo, this is Dr. Crou."

Leo extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Crou, the name's Leo Knightwalker."

Dr. Crou shook his hand, noticing his considerable magic but decided not to comment just yet. "My pleasure also, great Sir. Quite a lofty and fitting title you have there."

"I get that a lot."

"So out of curiosity, are you actually a full-fledged Knight, or in training to be one?"

"Oh no, Knightwalker is just my family name; I'm a magic user."

"Oh? I guess it's different in other places, I suppose. Where I'm from, a Knight usually is someone who can use magic. What kind of magic do you use?"

"Various kinds of spells, but my main specialty is combat magic."

"Huh, interesting." _I guess that explains his magic signature,_ Dr. Crou mused to himself. "So Lytha, how do you two know each other?"

"Oh, we met just the other day, but he was the one who cured my mana sickness and offered to teach me his magic."

"Oh? That's very generous of you, Leo. Quite a gentleman." _Awww, isn't that cute,_ Dr. Crou chuckled inwardly.

Lytha blushed a deep red.

"All I did was help her recover...?" Leo asked, confused.

"Haha, don't be so modest. You cured a girl and offered to teach her magic. Quite forward for someone you just met."

"I just think she is interesting," Leo replied.

Lytha suddenly stood up. "I'm going to the washroom, be right back!" Lytha ran to the washroom.

"If you say so. I would say she attracts a bit of trouble if she has a Prince trying to forcibly marry her." _And making deals with Drosselmeyer,_ Dr. Crou silently thought. "But I guess you are a capable guy to deal with all that."

"So why is Miss Lytha not happy with marrying a prince? I thought most girls would die to marry a prince," Leo said.

"To be honest, I haven't the slightest clue," Dr. Crou said. "I only met her a few times when I working here at the café. I had thought the same, also."

Lytha came back out of the washroom and sat beside Leo. "Sorry that took so long."

"Oh, but I had forgotten that he did bring in guards and try to demand that Lytha went with him..." Dr. Crou remarked. "So I guess that goes to show his personality."

"What are you guys talking about?" Lytha asked.

"About why you don't want to marry the Prince. I only met you a few times and the Prince only once while I was working, so I wasn't focused on your conversation."

"I'm curious, too," Leo added.

"Okay, then..." Lytha began to explain. "Sooooo, Prince Alex of Eden is determined to marry me because apparently we made a promise in our childhood, which I don't remember. When he found me while I was out of town, he kept me hostage there, so I escaped back here to Kinkan. Every week I have to change my disguise to hide from him, because he hasn't stopped searching for me since."

"I see, that is quite a hassle," Dr. Crou said.

Apollo Bare came out from the back door and noticed Dr. Crou, who waved at him. Remembering why he came to the café in the first place, Dr. Crou first let Apollo serve the customers their orders. "If you'll excuse me, I have other matters I need to attend to," he said, getting out of his chair and waiting for Apollo to finish serving his plates.

"See you next time, Dr. Crou!" Lytha waved at Dr. Crou.

"See you, and hopefully this Prince problem gets resolved." He waved back and went to talk with Apollo in the back office as the group started eating their food.

While Lucy and Marilee were busy eating at their table, Lytha looked around. "I wonder where Evanee and Noah are?" she asked.

"I'm right here," Noah waved his hand at Lytha while sitting in a darker spot near the back.

"Wha! Don't scare me like that, Noah! Why are you sitting over there?"

"Finding some darkness to conceal you better, since your facial features still have the same general structure. I suggested it to Evanee, who is..." He checks his watch. "...running late."

"Why is she running late?" Lytha asked.

"We... got into an argument."

Lytha sighed. "This is not like you, Noah." She sipped on her coffee, while Leo sat alongside her sipping from his own cup and eating his tiramisu.

"Sorry I stayed silent during the conversation, but... you plan to act like Leo is your husband?"

Lytha choked on her coffee. "...Um, y-yes--if I need to."

"No no, as in, how is that going to work? Alex was there when I declared you my girlfriend."

"That's why I said when needed," Lytha said. "Besides, it's not like anything will happen if he remembers that, right?"

Noah crossed his arms, walking over to them. "Consistency is important, especially in the history of everything. We need to corroborate evidence. If need be, I'll say we are engaged."

"And you are fine with that, Noah?" Lytha asked.

The door opened, and Evanee walked in with a soft smile, giving a wave to Mr. Bare. Lytha noticed Evanee and waved at her. "Evanee!!"

"As long as Leo doesn't get too close with her in the meantime," Noah muttered.

Lytha giggled. _Jealousy is not becoming of you, Noah,_ she thought.

Evanee smiled and gave Lytha a quick hug. "Hello, Lytha, Leo."

"Hello, Miss Evanee," Leo greeted.

"Ready for the prince, Evanee?" Lytha asked.

"In full honesty, no... I suppose Leo knows about it all by now?"

"For the most part," Lytha replied.

"Unfortunately," Noah remarked.

Evanee shot Noah a quick glance. "We aren't having this conversation now."

"Anyways, looking at the time, the prince should be arriving soon," Lytha said.

Evanee turned back to Lytha. "He isn't due for another half hour."

"Can I... ask about what happened?" Lytha said.

"...No," Noah said.

Lytha sweatdropped.

Evanee sighed and sat down. "Noah thinks that we shouldn't trust Leo... the exact opposite of what I think." She smiled at Leo. "I think you're very sweet."

"I thank you for the compliment, Miss Evanee," Leo replied.

"Anytime~~"

Lytha sweatdropped again.

"I'm just saying, I think your judgment of people is clouded, he shows up right when the prince comes. No offense to you, Leo, but we can't go around trusting everyone."

"I trust him, though?" Lytha said.

"Maybe my judgment _is_ clouded; maybe I should have seen how much of a jerk you are to other people," Evanee snapped.

"Evanee..." Lytha looked at her.

"She means what she says," Noah said.

Lytha was silent. "...."

"And you two seem to be a little wrapped around his finger. I've seen that sort of enchantment in the past with magic users as powerful as him."

"Hey!" Evanee exclaimed.

Leo looked at him with bewilderment. "I'm not using any enchantment..."

Evanee sighed, resting her things on the table. "I get that you are having trust issues, and I don't know why, but you need to chill, Noah. Especially since Leo is right here, and you are saying all these things in front of him and making Lytha uncomfortable. Right now, you need to use your brain instead of... whatever else you might be using. I don't make assumptions about you anymore; you should do the same with others."

"I'm fine, Evanee..." Lytha said.

Noah sat down next to Lytha, a little grumpy. "Fine. We can discuss this later."

"Yes, I agree," Evanee said.

~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Crou and Apollo were sitting in the back, watching the kids have their drama.

"More tea?" Dr. Crou asked, passing the kettle.

"Why, certainly," Apollo replied.

~~~~~~~~~

After they all calmed down, Evanee relaxed a little, and extended her hands out towards Lytha with a smile. "Hey."

Lytha jumped a little. "Yeah?"

"It's going to be okay. No matter _what_ happens, I'm here for you, I'll fight for you, and I'll even be your bridesmaid under confinement if it comes to it."

Lytha smiled. "Thanks a lot, Evanee."

"Are you two sisters?" Leo asked them.

Evanee practically cackled. "Do we look the part?"

"Why yes, actually," he replied.

Evanee frowned, a look of consternation on her face. Then her eyes widened. "OH!" she laughed. "Sorry, I forgot about her disguise."

"He has a point; you two do kind of look alike," Noah said, relaxing a little.

"I'm starting to forget how I originally looked. Maybe I should stay like this," Lytha said jokingly.

"It drains your magic slowly, glamor spells," Noah remarked.

"Aww, but I'd miss the fire hair you have!" Evanee said.

"May I ask what you looked like originally?" Leo said, looking at Lytha.

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Evanee said. "Not with the prince arriving soon."

"Maybe a photo would suffice?" Leo asked.

Evanee grinned, looking at Noah.

"We certainly know just the one," Noah said.

"Evanee, Noah, no!" Lytha exclaimed.

Evanee handed Leo her journal. "I use it as a bookmark."

"Evanee!!"

Noah quickly restrained Lytha. "It's a cute photo; you have nothing to worry about."

"Noah, unhand me!"

Leo took the journal and looked at the photo. Lytha blushed fervently.

Noah raised his arms in surrender. "Sorry, mi'lady," he said.

"I'm so embarrassed..."

"That's what you said to me, and I still charmed you, didn’t I?" Noah said. Evanee rolled her eyes.

Leo stared at the photo and had a slight pink tinge on his cheeks, though the trio didn't notice. "Ahem, I think you look beautiful in your original form, Miss Lytha."

"I hate you both..." Lytha muttered as Leo handed Evanee back the journal.

"No no, you love me," Evanee said.

"What made me decide to send you the photo...?"

"I think a teensy bit of you wanted me to have some blackmail material."

Lytha blushed again. "Okay enough teasing me," she said. "Noah, why didn't you stop Evanee?"

"Because you really are radiant in that photo, and it's better that Leo is charmed by you than by anyone else," he tells her in a low voice.

"...Don't even..." Lytha's face was still red. "You are lucky I'm too embarrassed to hit you."

Suddenly, the twins burst into the cafe. "Evanee!!" they yelled, tackling her.

"Hello, lovelies!" Evanee smiled as she let the two bowl her over, accidentally bumping the girl into Leo.

"Be careful there, Miss Evanee, you might fall," Leo said.

"I'm used to it," she giggled, hugging the twins tighter. "Sorry, by the way, for the invasion of personal space."

"You don't seem too sorry," Noah muttered.

"I don't mind, your safety matters more," Leo said.

"What a gentleman," Evanee laughed.

Lytha thought, _This is going to get very spicy..._

"Sister Evanee! The prince is very mean!" Lisa and Liam said.

"The prince is very--What do you mean? What did he do?" Evanee asked.

"The prince came to our house yesterday and started shouting at Daddy," Lisa said.

"Yeah, shouted," Liam added.

Lytha clenched her fists tightly.

"Ooh, ohoho, did he now?" Evanee said, gritting her teeth and cracking her knuckles a bit.

"After he shouted, the prince left, but the mean people started to beat Daddy up," Lisa said.

"WHAT?!" Evanee stood up. "When did this happen? What was the prince asking him?"

Lytha was shaking in anger.

"The prince kept asking where Sissy is," Liam said.

"Okay, this guy is really mental," Noah said.

"Yeah..." Lisa said.

"And did your dad say anything? Or did you?" Noah asked.

"Me and Lisa were hiding in our room peeking through the door, and Daddy said nothing," Liam replied.

"Thank goodness," Noah said.

"Not thank goodness, but I suppose it beats--er, is better than the alternative of him finding our girl," Evanee said.

Lytha was so angry that her hair was starting to go back to her original hair color. "Damn him..."

Noah looked over, grabbing Lytha's wrist. "Lytha, calm down. _Now!_ "

"HOW CAN I?!" Lytha shouted.

Leo decided to watch and save his spells for when it was needed.

"Lytha, I get it, but channel that anger into your magic; you need to keep up appearances, or we are going to have much bigger problems. And your father being beaten will be in vain," Noah said.

Lytha calmed down and her hair returned to its black color. "Damn it..."

"A word of caution: if you use too much magic, I fear you may go into a coma," Leo warned her. "Don't forget, Lytha, you just recovered from the fever."

Evanee nodded. "Just relax, you only need to bear with it a little longer."

"...Yeah," Lytha said.

The twins went to tackle Lytha. "Sissy!!"

"Whoa there," Lytha said, petting the twins' heads. "You two better go home before the prince arrives."

"Yes, it's better if he doesn't catch you here," Noah said.

"Okay," the twins replied, waving at the group before going home.

"How much longer before the prince arrives?" Lytha asked.

Lucy could hardly believe everything she had heard. "Wish I knew..." she replied.

The cafe door opened, and two guards plus a chambermaid walked in alongside Prince Alex himself.

"Oh great, he's here," Lytha muttered.

"Speak of the devil..." Noah said.

Alex walked up to their table. "I'm looking for Miss Evanee."

Evanee sighed and stood up. "Here."

Alex walked up to the table, and his maid pulled up a chair for the prince to sit. "So, Miss Evanee, I'm here as promised. Now tell me where Lytha is."

"According to my research, she's left town."

"I hope you are not lying to me, Miss Evanee -- don't forget, I can destroy your life in seconds."

Lytha clenched her fists.

"Oh, dear prince, threats like that will not work on me," Evanee replied.

"Oh, do tell why," Alex said.

She smiled. "Simply because I don't have anything to lose."

"...From my spies, I know you are very close with Lytha, as well as her friends."

"From your _spies,_ you should know that Lytha was very important to me. I have nothing to lose because you caused her to leave my life."

"Don't forget about your other friends, Miss Evanee. I can destroy their lives... hmmm, for example, this girl by the name of Marilee?"

Evanee's smile dropped.

"I heard she just entered the school," he added.

"Choose very carefully where you tread, Alex. I told you I was the only one who could help you find her, and that is the truth."

"I'll do whatever I need to marry Lytha, even if it means destroying lives."

Noah twitched in his seat.

Lytha was so close to punching the prince, but then a cackle came out of Evanee's throat. "Would you destroy your own?"

"No," Alex said proudly.

"Ah," Evanee stood from her seat. "See, that's how I know you don't truly love her."

"Explain yourself!" Alex yelled.

"Love? Something you don't understand. It's about sacrifice. It's about taking from yourself to give to them. I have a question, dear prince. Choose your answer wisely, and speak your truth."

Alex snapped his fingers and the guards brought in the twins, much to Lytha's shock.

"I have a question," Evanee said a little more forcefully.

"Go ahead," Alex growled.

"If you could only have one: Lytha, or your title. What would you choose? You can only choose one out of the two. Either spending your days with the love of your life, with no protection of guards, with no role of a Prince... Or continuing your life, knowing you'll never have her by your side."

"...I won't answer that question; I have been born and raised with everything I want."

"Answer the question."

"And I said I won't answer that question," Alex snapped his fingers and the guards held the twins tighter. "Now tell me, where is Lytha?"

Evanee began to giggle.

"You obviously don’t know what Love is, prince!" Noah banged his fist on the table. "I would leave behind _everything_ for the person I love. I would forget about the family I had, the wealth I had, everything I had, if it meant being with her in a shabby home with nothing!"

"Silence! I will ask again. Where is Lytha?"

Lytha stood there silently.

"I will do whatever it takes so that I can see her and bring her back."

"She's dead."

Alex banged the table. "You told me she left town, now you tell me she is DEAD?!" he yelled. "From the way I see it, Miss Evanee, you must be lying."

"You killed her," Evanee said. "She left behind her life, everything she had, to get away from you. You drove her mad. You trapped her."

Alex drew his sword and pointed it at Evanee. "Silence!!"

As Lytha looked on with alarm, Evanee moved towards him. "Do it."

"Evanee--" Noah began to say.

"No, I won't. Why end it like that, when I can kill the kids first?" Alex said, smiling.

Lytha stood behind Evanee, ready to attack the prince.

"Excuse me, but we don't condone murder in this establishment," Apollo Bare suddenly walked into their midst. "Much less child murder."

"Quiet! I am the prince; you have no say in this," Alex motioned with his hands, and more guards stood in front of Apollo.

Suddenly, the calmest of them all, Lucy stood up. "So, are you really willing to put people in life-threatening danger merely because of your egoism?" she said, calm and collected, but with a hint of... threat?

"If I can't have her, no one can!!" Alex shouted. "If her mother hadn't run away, we would have been married. After we found Lytha's mother, my father ordered his people to brainwash her mother, to tell her to marry another noble and start another family! Then Lytha would be all mine!"

Lytha took a step back. "...brainwash...?"

Marilee, who had been watching and listening the entire time, suddenly stood up, her eyes going wide. "You're a monster..."

Dr. Crou, upon hearing the word 'brainwash', felt his blood boil over.

"You take after your parents, after all..." Evanee said.

"So I decided I would do the same to Lytha, that she would love me and ONLY me!"

"You are listening to yourself, aren't you?" Lucy asked, smirking.

Dr. Crou sat back down because there were five magic users against Prince Alex now, and he was starting to sound like a cartoon villain.

"This is the highest level of egotism. You want her for yourself -- only for yourself. You threaten the lives of innocent people. You are NO better than a lowly criminal," Lucy said.

"QUIET!!"

" **SHUT UP!!** NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR EGO!!" Lucy shouted.

Noah just nodded in agreement. Lytha tightly grabbed Evanee's hand, shaking with anger and grief.

"You could be the reason people's families to fall into a deep depression, maybe even into endless despair," Lucy went on. "And you would be okay with that. Prince... no, for you, that would be a compliment. Even 'monster' wouldn't put it right. You are a tyrant. A tyrant blinded by selfish love." As she said this, Lucy's eyes were slowly fading into another color...

"Not even a tyrant; you can't do your own dirty work," Noah added.

"You are nothing worth keeping. You do not deserve anybody. You are worthless, you truly pathetic human being," Lucy said. "You are an insult to the title of a prince. A prince is determined, friendly and respectful towards others, while you talk about your own egotistical goals. I doubt anybody would want to marry you, _ever_."

Lucy's eyes had now become a menacing red. "All this effort, just for somebody to respect you in marriage? Pfft, I laugh at the very thought of that."

"These guards... they are probably tired of your commanding. Of your pathetic words. Hell, have you considered that they might secretly hate you? I mean, who would not?" Lucy said.

Marilee glanced at Lytha before she quietly tried to get near the twins without being noticed. Lytha acknowledged this but said nothing.

"Oh, the great Prince Alex of Eden. No. More like the useless, nonsensical prince who would walk on dead bodies. But what if someone would threaten _your_ life and _your_ family instead?" Lucy continued. "Would you still hold that head high? No. You would lie down, with the face on the ground, sobbing and crying. This is how people will feel -- how Lytha will feel -- if you take away anyone she knows. A _prince_ would be feeling her pain with her... but _YOU_?"

Evanee sipped her tea. Lucy had this covered.

"You do not deserve any kind of love. Your mother, wherever she is -- hell, even if she was dead -- she would be extremely disappointed."

Evanee nodded, putting a biscuit in her mouth. "Good place to go. His mom."

Marilee saw the guards' attention was on Lucy. As much as Marilee wanted to watch Lucy burn Alex to the ground, she needed to get the twins to safety. Slowly. Very carefully. She grabbed the twins, holding them very close as she rushed toward Dr. Crou. Dr. Crou defensively put himself in front of Marilee and the twins.

 _"_ If I were Lytha... I would not have run away from you," Lucy said. "Instead, I would have made sure you did not feel anything anymore."

Lytha whispered to Evanee, "I'm... sorry."

Evanee waved her off. "You're fine, it's not your fault; plus, this is fun to watch."

Alex laughed. "Are you done with your little speech?"

"You do not understand, prince," Lucy said. "I wouldn't even be afraid of shedding blood, right here. I'll give you one minute."

 _Better not be Raven's blood I'm sensing..._ Dr. Crou thought.

"Wow, that's almost too far, but I was about to do the same a few minutes ago," Evanee said under her breath.

"If you are not gone from here by then, I... no -- _they_ will get you. And hell, if you mess with them, you would wish you'd have never been born."

Dr. Crou's mantle spread out into wings, reacting in defense to Lucy's threats towards the Prince, acting as a barrier to shield Marilee and the twins, and possibly Apollo.

"They?" Noah asked.

Marilee made sure the twins were safe and okay, though she tilted her head at Lucy. Who were 'they?'

"Take your guards and go. Leave this town. Never return," Lucy said. "No one likes you. You can tell your guards your pathetic words, but your crying won't do anything here."

Alex smirked and snapped his fingers. This time, a guard dragged in Lytha's dad, half-beaten up. Alex walked over to Lytha's dad and held a sword by the man's neck. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, miss."

Lytha's eyes widened in horror. Marilee let out angry shrill crowing.

"Very well, then...you do not leave me any other choice," Lucy said.

"Okay, this has gone far enough," Noah said.

Lucy, however, did wait -- for Lytha and Noah had just come into the action.

Lytha, having had it with his antics, blasted a fireball at Alex. "ENOUGH!"

Dr. Crou smacked his face. There was no coordination here...

Noah raised his hand, looked at it quizzically, and formed it into a fist, throwing a punch right at the prince's nose.

"Noah, stay out of this..." Lytha said. "Well, okay, you can have the guards, but I'm taking care of the prince."

"Fine by me," Noah replied.

But then Apollo bellowed over all of them, "NO MAGIC BATTLES IN MY ESTABLISHMENT! TAKE IT OUTSIDE INTO THE COURTYARD!"

"Like he said, can we... take this outside? I don't want this to come out of my paycheck," Evanee said. "Sorry, Mr. Bare, for all of this."

 _Y'all so dramatic..._ Dr. Crou internally sighed.

Lytha grabbed Alex by the collar and picked up his sword, dragging the prince out of the cafe.

"Thank you, Mr. Bare. You can fire me if you wish -- it's my fault!" Evanee said.

Apollo Bare told Marilee and the twins to stay inside. Marilee nodded as she made sure the twins were sat down and taken care of, before she rushed to try and patch up Lytha's dad with the first aid kit.

Lucy slowly calmed down. With that, the red color in her eyes dissipated gradually. She took a deep breath. "I guess I deserve getting kicked out. Who wants a bad atmosphere in their café, after all?"

Apollo Bare growled. "Just go."

"Very well, then -- sorry for the lashout. Goodbye." And Lucy walked outside and away from the cafe.

~~~~~~~~~

Lytha stopped outside the cafe and threw Alex onto the ground, pointing the sword at his face. Evanee rushed out, Noah not far behind her. Dr. Crou stood near the doorway of the café, keeping a watchful eye to make sure nobody hurt themselves.

"I won't hesitate to kill you," Lytha said. "One last chance... leave this village and never come back."

Alex laughed loudly. "Not unless you come with me, love!"

"Oh please, she's already married!" Evanee yelled out a defense.

Lytha raised the sword, ready to stab the prince in the heart.

"Lytha, don't!" Noah yelled.

Dr. Crou was about to jump forward, seeing the sword coming at the prince's heart. He knew it was a heated moment, but murder was not the way to go.

Lytha brought down the sword, only to stop an inch away from his heart. "What's wrong, Noah? I thought you didn't like the prince, either -- I'm just doing all of us a favor by killing him."

"Oh for CA-CAW-sake, how could you easily say that?" Dr. Crou demanded.

"Killing him won't solve anything; it'll make matters worse. You'll be trading away a part of your soul," Noah said.

"Plus, you have never killed before... You don't know what it does to you psychologically..." _Really glad Odin is not here. No wonder he said these humans are so dramatic,_ Dr. Crou thought.

"Then what, let him live? So that he can hurt my friends and family again?" Lytha asked.

"The prince's lackeys will hurt your loved ones even more if he's dead. They won't stop until everyone here is gone," Noah said.

"Tch..." Lytha moved the sword away from the prince's heart.

Dr. Crou flew quickly to the Prince to hold him down.

"Unhand me!" the prince exclaimed.

"Leo, I'm pretty sure you know some binding spell," Dr. Crou said to him.

Leo nodded and cast a binding spell, holding the prince down.

"What about the guards?" Noah asked.

"If you wish to remain alive or for the Prince to remain alive, stand your ground." Dr. Crou called out to the guards.

The guards stood down, and Dr. Crou stepped away from the Prince. Lytha stared at the sword in her hand for a long moment, and decided to drop it onto the ground.

"Now, I have no idea how the judicial system here works. So what are you going to do?" Dr. Crou asked.

"...I have no clue," Lytha said.

"Well, if Mytho is part of the royal system, will he be able to see to the crimes of Prince Alex?"

"Hopefully," Evanee said, brushing off her dress. "But until then," she looked at the guards, "take your prince back home: peacefully."

"Uhhhh, no," Dr. Crou objected.

"You disagree?"

"If there is a containment center here, the Mayor should be able to detain him for disrupting the peace."

"I have to say Evanee, I'm with Crou on this one," Noah said.

"He shouldn't be in Kinkan any longer!" Evanee exclaimed.

"He shouldn't be free to leave, though," Dr. Crou countered. "Who is going to hold him accountable when the trial comes? He is known to be an egotistical prince, so he could flee the country and never return to save face."

"He'll be charged for the repercussions! We don't need more rumors spreading. Especially since his soldiers are here as well," Evanee said.

"Evanee," Noah began.

Then, while everyone had been busy talking, one of Prince Alex's spies snuck up behind Lytha and stabbed her in the back.

"CA-CAWW! WHY YOU--!" In one smooth movement, Dr. Crou removed his gloves and slashed his talons at the spy, who fell to the ground an instant later. "...That was in self defense."

"Lytha!" A bloodcurdling scream came from Evanee, who ran to Lytha's side as her friend began coughing up blood.

Leo ran over to Lytha and knelt by them.

"Leo! Leo, can you fix it?!" Evanee yelled.

"I'm not well versed in healing magic," he replied.

"We have to do something!" Evanee screamed, cradling Lytha in her arms.

"...Evanee... I'm sleepy," Lytha said.

"May I see Lytha. I'm a doctor," Dr. Crou said.

Leo stepped away to let him through.

"No, no, Lytha, stay awake, look at me. Don't sleep, don't sleep..." Evanee looked at Korvus, and hesitantly gave up Lytha's custody to him.

Dr. Crou put his gloves back on and pulled out a pocketwatch. "Leo, can you put her to sleep? I need her to be unconscious at this stage."

"What? But what if she--!" Evanee can't seem to form the words.

Leo held his hands over Lytha and put her into a deep sleep. Dr. Crou placed the pocketwatch on Lytha's forehead and clicked the knob. Lytha's breathing and other movements seemed to stop.

"What are you doing?!" Evanee yelled.

"Evanee, calm down!" Noah exclaimed. "He's using time magic; it's what I use. Let him do what he needs to do."

Dr. Crou checked the stab wound, which was a bit deep. It hadn't hit her heart, but it had gotten to her lungs and ribs. He removed the knife, but no blood spilled out, as if it were frozen in place. "I could use some assistance. I need a towel and some water."

Evanee's sobs were uncontrollable as she nodded, rushing inside the cafe to go get what he needed.

~~~~~~~~~

As Evanee ran into the cafe, she muttered, "T-Towel. And water..."

Marilee saw Evanee was stressed out, and quickly went to get the water and towel, hurrying to give them to Evanee."Is everything okay?!"

"My... daughter... where is she?" Lytha's dad asked Evanee.

Evanee looked down at her bloodstained dress, wheezing between her breaths. "It's -- she's gonna be okay, she's gonna be fine, I just need to -- need to..."

Hearing Evanee, the twins looked at each other and rushed outside.

Lytha's father glanced toward the door. "Lytha..."

~~~~~~~~~

"Leo, can you levitate her body so it's not pressing on the ground? Usually we would have transferred her to a table, but we can't move her right now," Dr. Crou said.

"Of course," Leo said, casting a levitation spell.

The twins saw their sister not moving. "Sissy?"

Noah grabbed the twins. "Stay back, you two -- she'll be okay."

The twins grabbed onto Noah's sleeves tightly.

"Can't think about privacy... Sorry, twins." Dr. Crou examined Lytha to see if anything else was broken, checking for splintered bones. Then he glanced at the pocketwatch. "Okay, we still have time."

"I can give you more time if needed; it's what I specialize in," Noah said.

Dr. Crou hovered his hands over Lytha and a bright ash-grey light came out, shimmering over the wound. "Alright, will keep that in mind. Thanks, Noah."

Evanee rushed back out from the cafe and held out the pitcher of water and towels to Dr. Crou.

"Good; thanks, Evanee."

She stepped back, a steady stream of tears trickling from her eyes.

Dr. Crou took the towel and soaked it in the water, then spread an ointment on it. He pressed the towel to the wound and chanted a spell, causing the towel to be drenched in blood.

"S-Sister Evanee... will Sissy be okay?" the twins asked, crying.

"She's going to be just fine -- Korvus knows what he's doing," Evanee said, reassuring herself more than the twins. She stopped, pressing herself against Noah. "I can't watch..."

Noah let go of Liam's hand and wrapped his arm around Evanee, as though to shield her from the pain.

Finishing with the towel, he started emitting the bright glow again. He wished Odin was here to see the advanced healing magic he had talked about with him -- but at the same time, it probably was better he wasn't here in the first place.

Then Dr. Crou sensed Lytha's body rejecting his magic a bit. _Shoot, I need to choose a different frequency._

His magic changed color as he tested the frequencies to see what her body would accept. It settled on a red, almost rose shade. _Huh, I guess that works._ A stronger light emitted now, and Lytha's wound rapidly began healing.

After some time, the wound was closed up. "Okay, you can set her down now."

"Evanee... it's over," Noah said to her.

Leo slowly settled Lytha back onto the ground.

"Whew, okay, Leo. You might need to get some anesthetic or painkillers for her to take when she wakes up."

"Got it."

Dr. Crou removed the pocketwatch from Lytha's forehead, and took off the bloody towel. "I will need a break now. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, which is good."

"She... she's okay?" Evanee asked.

"Hm? Yes, Evanee, she's alright now," he replied. "We might need to send the spy to the hospital, though. I had to slash him up to disarm him."

Lytha slowly opened her eyes. "....Evanee?"

Evanee rushed over. "Hi, hi! I'm here! You're okay, everything is okay now."

"Get the painkillers, Leo," Dr. Crou whispered quickly to the boy.

Leo held out the painkillers in front of Lytha. "Here, take these."

Lytha opened her mouth and let Leo feed her the painkillers, since she couldn't move her arms. After that, Leo let her drink some water.

"Does anybody have the Mayor's number?" Dr. Crou asked. "We need some people to be detained. With plenty of witnesses and evidence, to boot."

"...What... happened?" Lytha asked blearily.

Evanee can't stop herself from crying. "It doesn't matter anymore. You're okay, now."

Feeling a bit lightheaded, he knew it was from using the magic; he'd be right as day again if he ate some lunch.

"Evanee, let's go home. We've had a long day -- you could use some rest," Noah said.

"But, Lytha's still..."

"I will take care of her, don't worry," Leo said. He took her in his arms and princess-carried her. "She will be fine, I promise."

Evanee nodded, biting her lip.

As Apollo Bare called the Mayor and the Sheriff to detain the Prince and his men, Lytha smiled weakly and said, "...Evanee... I will... be fine... so, smile... okay? Noah... take... care of her."

Evanee tried to smile, but she couldn't. Instead she turned to Noah. "We can go home now, there's always that," she said, her voice more cheerful than her face.

"You can see Lytha tomorrow at the trial for the prince," Leo said, before carrying Lytha back to her house.

Noah nodded. With that, he led Evanee away.

"Hey, Apollo. Can I get whatever lunch special you made? I'm starving from using that magic," Dr. Crou said.

"It's lobster bisque stew. On the house," the polar bear said.

With that, the two went back inside to check on Marilee, the twins, and Lytha's father. It had certainly been an eventful day.


	40. In Which Sagi and Lucy Talk By the School Fountain

It was after school, and Sagi had just gotten out of her last class for the day. She stepped out into the courtyard amongst the other students returning to the dorm or going out to town, but found for some reason she didn't feel like leaving campus just yet. So instead, she went by the swan fountain and sat down on a nearby bench, taking out a book about legendary fisher catches and flipping through it idly.

Just as fate wants -- or plot convenience calls for it -- Lucy sat on another bench, at the exact same fountain, thinking about her sudden actions in the café.

Hearing a rustle near her, Sagi glanced up and saw Lucy sitting there. Something about her expression reminded her of when Caras sometimes sat at the dorm fountain, brooding. It prompted her out of concerned curiosity to say, "Oh, Lucy -- I haven't seen you in a little while. Have things been going well for you lately?"

"Oh hey, Sagi. Yeah, it's been a bit. Things have gone well for me lately, thanks for asking. What about you?"

"Hmm... fine, I suppose," she said absentmindedly. She paused. "...Nothing else strange has happened for you, right?"

"Nothing too special, at least." Something, nonetheless, seemed off about Lucy...

Sagi blinked, frowning slightly. "Is... everything alright?"

"Why are you asking?"

Sagi's brow furrowed. "You just seem... preoccupied. Like something's bothering you."

"Well, you see... we had a kind of heated argument in the café," Lucy said. "So, I'm sure you know about that prince Lytha often spoke of, right?"

Sagi looked a little more concerned. "Oh, dear... is it to do with him? I hear he has been quite the nuisance around town, and I haven't even seen Lytha around for a while..."

"Well, the prince had entered the café with his guards, asking for Lytha, the usual stuff. He started threatening all of us, even Lytha's father and her twin siblings. Evanee tried to stop him, but the prince was a bit too naive. And then... _that_ happened.

"While I tried to protect everybody, some kind of vicious feeling overwhelmed me. I started talking about how he was just a pathetic human being, who deserves no love from this world. I even started to threaten him myself, to shed his blood, to make him unable to feel anymore. And strangely, I do not know why. It... just happened." Even more strange was that Lucy did not show any kind of sadness or shock. Just a bit of surprise...

Sagi's hand went to her mouth in pensive worry. "Has that... ever happened before?"

"It has not," Lucy replied. "At least I do not recall that this ever happened before."

Sagi's lips pursed. She can't help but wonder if it was anything like when she held the Agony shard; that, however, wasn't something she could easily put into words. "Hmmm... umm, when you threatened him... what were you feeling exactly? I know that's a bit of a vague question," she added quickly.

"I cannot describe it properly... I was self-confident, still enraged. But I managed to stay calm most of the time... and I felt that I was smirking a lot during this. As I said, a vicious feeling of sorts."

"Did you... not feel like yourself? Did it feel like... something else was there, driving you to feel things you otherwise wouldn't have...?"

"There was some unexplained outside influence, but that is all. Other than that, I felt majorly the same..." Lucy trailed off for a moment. "Or I think there was, at least. Through all these emotions, I couldn't really concentrate on anything."

"It felt somehow out of the ordinary, something you don't remember feeling before, right? Do you feel like... magic was involved? I suppose it would be hard to tell if you never had experienced magic before..."

"I do not really know. I however do know is that I threatened the prince to get caught by... 'them'. And I got some sort of unsettling feeling who 'them' could be."

"'Them'..." Sagi said, growing quiet. "'Them' being ravens, perhaps...?"

Lucy sighed. "Indeed. I... I just got this weird feeling. And... not to mention the thing that I recently remembered..."

Sagi looked at Lucy with puzzlement. "Something you remembered?"

"Yes... the memory is clouded, but I am sure it happened. You see, I was raised to believe that I was born in another town -- but originally, I was born in Kinkan. Now to the rather clouded part... years ago, when I was just a little kid, something terrible did happen. I do not remember what, but I do remember cawing coming from outside. And a female voice -- most likely my mother -- talking with someone, or something, with an incredibly dark voice. Like, a demon." Lucy paused. "I unfortunately cannot remember any more of it."

Sagi put a hand to her lips, troubled. "A demon's voice... it almost sounds as if whatever they had been talking about, it may have to do with some of the feelings you've been having... as strange as that may sound."

"Possibly. Maybe I will remember more, eventually. Either way, I cannot predict what will happen during the following days. If such behavior will show up again, or if something else regarding all this happens."

Sagi nodded soberly. "If... if you ever need someone to help, I'll be happy to do whatever I can."

"Thank you," Lucy replied.


	41. In Which Marilee and Odin Bake a Cake

The little raven boy explored the streets of Kinkan, this time on foot instead of in the air. There was a particular stretch of road Odin hadn't seen much of, so there he was, glancing around as he walked down the cobblestone road.

Meanwhile, Marilee was heading back to her apartment. After everything that went down, she needed to take her mind off things. In her bag was more fabric she bought.

Odin heard someone approaching from ahead of him, and looked up to see that it was Marilee. "Oh, wannabe-crow girl, you're here. It's been a while."

Marilee stopped, looked over at Odin, and smiled. "Hi, Odin!"

Odin held up a hand in greeting. "Well met, my friend. So what are you up to this time of day?"

“Oh. I was heading home to work on something. Did you want to tag along?”

He tilted his head. "Work on something? What are you working on?"

"Oh, I was working on some costumes. I'm also looking up some cakes to make on Saturday."

"Cakes and costumes?" Odin asked. "Are you having a party of some sort?"

"Oh! No, I'm helping make costumes for the drama department, and I’m going to teach Mytho to make cakes. He really wants to surprise Rue with cake."

"Mytho? Rue? Are they other friends of yours?"

"Yes, they're other friends. Well, I never really got to meet Rue yet."

"Huh. I don't think I've seen a cake being baked before," Odin remarked.

"We should bake together! It'll be fun!" Marilee exclaimed.

He tilted his head at her, thinking for a moment. "Okay," he said, "but in that case, I get some cake when we're done!"

The ravenette smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

Marilee led Odin to her apartment, going around the back to climb a few stairs before reaching a door. She opened it and let Odin inside.

Inside the apartment, it was quite warm and cozy. The kitchen was small, but it had plenty of room for cooking and baking. There was a table in the living room, and in the corner were the costumes being made. In the far left, there was a room with a 'bed' that was more of a huge pile of pillows with many blankets and stuffed animals. There was also a bathroom on the right of her bedroom.

Odin glanced around curiously. "I don't go inside human personal dwellings all that much, but it seems nice. It does look as if you like it here."

The girl nodded. "It isn’t much, but it's home. Please, make yourself comfortable. I'll start getting the ingredients for the cake." Then she realized something. "Ah! Did you have a favorite flavor?”

Odin raised an eyebrow with genuine confusion. "Uh... flavor? Of cake? There are different flavors of them?"

“Yes. We have vanilla, chocolate, tiramisu, lemon, orange, and strawberry..." She would have gone on, but she didn't want to overwhelm Odin with choices.

The raven boy's mind was beginning to get muddled from all the choices, so in an effort to be decisive, he picked the flavor that had the word 'berry' in it, which he recognized. "Uh... strawberry! Let's do that."

Marilee smiled as she nodded. She went to get the ingredients for the strawberry cake.

Curious about the whole process, Odin loosely followed behind her, glancing around at the kitchenware in sight. Marilee collected everything needed and placed them down on the table. The strawberries she had were clearly very fresh.

"Where are you going to put those... strawberries?" Odin asked, figuring the little fruits were said berries, even though he wasn't familiar with them. "On top of it?"

"I'm also going to put them inside the cake," she explained.

"Are they all going in whole?" Odin asked, his eyes widening a little. "Or are they going to be sliced first?"

"They're going in sliced. We're also going to use some strawberry juice to naturally dye the batter pink."

"It's gonna be a _pink_ cake?" he said, looking startled. "I thought cakes were all like, yellowish or brown -- or maybe white, if there's cream on it."

"Cakes are like that. However, people can color it into different colors with food coloring, or using fruits that naturally stain, like strawberries."

"Huh," Odin said curiously. "So, you could make food whatever color you wanted if you had the right ingredient for it?"

The girl nodded her head. "Yep, caw! Want to start making the batter?"

"Okay!" Odin said, then paused. "Uh... how do we do that?"

"I'll show you!" Marilee started to pour flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, and milk into the bowl. She did it step by step, but then allowed Odin to give it a try.

Watching intently, Odin tried to take one of the eggs and put it in the bowl, but he put too much force on it, and it caused a slight mess around the counter. "Ugh, oops. Sorry 'bout that. That's not a problem, is it?"

"Nope! It's fine. This is your first time making a cake," she assured her friend. "I spilled a lot of flour once."

Odin glanced at the bag of flour, noting how powdery it was. "That must've been annoying to clean up," he remarked. After a pause, he added, "Don't worry, I won't do it on purpose."

Marilee giggled and nodded. "Go ahead and start mixing the batter. I'll cut up the strawberries," she said. She began to cut them into slices and poured some juices into a little bowl.

Odin nodded casually and grabbed a wooden spoon. He stared down at the mix intently, and then with intense gusto, began to forcefully churn the entire bowl, as if he were trying to kill it.

She finished cutting the strawberries and filled the bowl with strawberry juice. She turned to see Odin mixing and couldn't help but smile at this. He was really doing his best.

After several seconds of said fervent churning, he stopped and glanced into the bowl, which is now one even, smooth color. "Think that's enough?"

Marilee looked at the batter and nodded. "Yep! Now we just add the juice," she said, pouring the red juice into the batter and carefully mixing it so Odin could see it slowly change to a soft pink.

He stared at the distinctive pink color. "Guess that's the color the cake is gonna be, huh?"

"Yep. It will also taste like strawberries, too."

Odin pursed his lips curiously. "Wonder what strawberries taste like. Guess I'll find out."

The girl suddenly offered Odin a strawberry. He blinked for a moment, then deftly took it and popped it into his mouth. "Hmm... it's actually not as sweet as I thought," he remarked, chewing on it. "It's a little tart as well."

"That's why it's in most desserts. The tart balances the sweetness."

"They put these fruits in a lot of them, huh?" Odin looked thoughtful. "Maybe I gotta try more human desserts, if there's such a variety of them." He glanced at her. "What next?"

"Next, we put the batter into these two pans and let them bake."

"Oh, I know about this part," Odin said. "Well, kinda. I know that to bake something, you need an oven, and to make it hot and then put food in it." He frowned. "I wouldn't know how to work one, though..."

"Oh, I'll show you," Marilee then led Odin to the oven. "See the temperature meter? We have to pre-heat the oven so that it'll be hot enough for the cake to bake. It's ready right now, though.”

Odin bent forward, studying it for a moment. "Oh, so it does take a while to warm up." He looked back at Marilee. "And we put it right in there, right? How long does it stay in there?"

"We time it. For these cakes, it takes about fifteen minutes. So we put them in the oven," she said, opening the stove and placed the cakes in. She then pulled out a timer and dialed it to fifteen minutes. "Now we just let the cakes bake, and the timer will let us know when it's ready!"

He peered into the oven window, raising an eyebrow. "And it'll just... bake itself in there? From the heat? How?"

"When the heat is hot enough, it can bake or cook anything. This is a gas stove, so if you look close, you can see the fire right there."

The raven boy thought for a few moments. "Is this... the same sort of thing when humans say the 'bread is rising'? The heat is making it... 'rise' out of the pot?"

"Yep!"

Odin looked confused. "Does _anything_ rise like that? Most things just catch on fire, or become roasted or scorched. Why does bread, or cake, rise?"

"I think it's mostly because of the flour and baking soda."

"Oh. So that must be why those ingredients are in there, then," he remarked, stepping away from the oven and looking at it with interest. After a few moments, he sniffed the air, and his eyes brighten. "Hey, now... I'm beginning to catch its scent! It really _is_ becoming cake!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Marilee nodded her head happily. "Yep! We got nine minutes to go!"

"Nine minutes, huh?" Odin said, the impatience leaking into his voice. "What do we do until then? Is there anything else we gotta do when we take it out that we oughta prep for?"

"Well... want to make the frosting?"

" 'Kay!" Odin said with a grin. "How do we do that?"

"We start with these!" she pulled out the sugar, butter, and milk. "We need to put in the sugar and butter, as well as some milk, and keep mixing them until it becomes frosting."

The raven boy grinned. "So do I stir it like with the batter?"

Marilee nodded her head, smiling. "Yep!"

Odin put his hands on his hips with confidence. "Heh. Leave it to me!" He grabbed another mixing spoon and pushed up his wing-like sleeves. "Alright, frosting -- prepare to be mixed like you've never been mixed before!"

Marilee giggled at this. "You can do it, Odin!"

Odin nodded emphatically, and holding up the spoon as if he were brandishing a saber, he jabbed it into the bowl and began swirling it like a tempest. He hadn't quite accounted for the lower viscosity of the ingredients though, so after he started stirring, some of the contents splashed out of the bowl toward its mixer, causing Odin to cover his face for a second. "Wha--!"

Marilee stood there for a second, before she giggled. "I think you stirred a little too fast. It happens to me, too," she said, before she got a napkin and started to clean his face.

Odin pouted to himself, looking embarrassed as Marilee grabbed the napkin. "I was just... a little too enthusiastic, that's all," he mumbled, glancing to the side.

"It's fine. Like I said, this is your first time baking. We all get really excited."

The boy crossed his arms and tightened his lips. "I shan't make that mistake again," he declared. "Now then, I shall continue!"

Resolutely, he turned back to the bowl, and stuck the spoon back into the mixture, looking as if he were about to do the exact same thing he did before. But, remembering himself, he started stirring it less like a tempest and more like a smooth river's flow. Marilee couldn't help but observe his movements, and she smiled. He was doing great!

Soon, the mix became one evenly-viscous liquid. When Odin saw this, he studied it for a moment, then looked at Marilee. "I think that's done, don't you? How much time's left on the clock for the oven?"

Marilee looked at the clock. "About a minute left, and the icing looks great!"

"Then we'd better get ready to take the cake out of the oven!" Odin said, placing the bowl and spoon down and walking over to the oven, glancing inside through the oven window. "It sure _smells_ like it's almost ready..." he remarked, sniffing the air contentedly.

Marilee smiled happily. "It sure does. Ah, one important thing." Marilee suddenly handed Odin some oven mittens. "We put these on to protect our hands. The metal pan will be quite hot," she explained.

The timer rang, and she turned it off. "It's ready now!" Marilee placed her mitts on before opening the oven and pulling out one of the cakes. It was nice and pink.

Odin looked over the oven mitts curiously. "Huh, these do feel pretty thick," he remarked. "I was wondering how we were going to touch the hot pans without getting burned." When he put them on, he paused, and then waved his hands around a little bit. "Heheh, they flap kinda like wings!"

The girl blinked twice, before she waved her hands a little and giggled. "Yeah! They do, caw!"

After Odin finished putting on the mitts, he helped her get the rest of the contents of the oven out. "It looks like we have everything we need," Odin said. "How do we put this all together?"

"We put frosting between the cakes. It helps them keep together."

Odin blinked in surprise. "Oh -- so it's kind of like an edible paste?" He laughed. "I wouldn't expect icing to be used like paste!" He grabbed an icing-spreading knife and glanced at Marilee, preparing to copy what she did.

Marilee smiled as she showed Odin how to spread the icing. Odin was a fast learner, and after only showing it to him briefly, he was able to take the knife and begin spreading the icing with relative smoothness. It didn't take long for both of them to finish.

"Now we can add the strawberries," Marilee said.

"Is there any special way we oughta add them?" Odin asked. "Or do we just put 'em wherever we feel like?"

"We can decorate the cake any way we like to," Marilee answered, smiling as she started to put the strawberry slices around the cake.

Odin grinned, grabbing the strawberry slices and starting to place them seemingly randomly around the top of the cake. However, if one studied his placements, it almost seemed as if he had something specific in mind, putting them in particular spots. Marilee hummed to herself as she made a cute star out of the strawberries, before glancing over at Odin.

Odin noticed the pattern Marilee was making, and he beamed. "Hey, you read my mind!"

"You're making stars, too!"

Odin nodded happily. "Yeah! I was tryin' to remember the constellations from back home. Cake might not be big enough for all of them though, hahaha!"

"I can't remember much either, so I thought I'd make star shapes," Marilee said.

Odin folded his arms proudly. "Well, I think that's absolutely perfect," he declared with a grin. "Let's do that for the whole cake!"

"Okay!" Marilee cheered.

And so, the two of them made a pattern of stars across the entire cake's surface, creating a sky of red speckled in a field of white. When they were done, Odin stepped back and admired their handiwork with his hands on his hips. "Look at that!" he exclaimed. "A true masterpiece!"

The girl smiled happily and giggled. "It really is! This has to be the most fun I've had for a long while!"

Odin beamed. "I didn't think making a cake of all things would be this much fun!" he said with enthusiasm. "Of course, you have to have the right people helping you. Good thing I came along today, huh?"

The girl happily nodded at him with a smile. "Thank you, Odin!"

Odin bowed ostentatiously. "Anytime, my honorary crow friend," he said. "We can't forget the last part -- I still need to have my share of the cake!"

"Oh! Right!" Marilee cut a big slice out of the cake, placed it on a plate, and handed it over to Odin. "Here you are!"

Odin took the plate and grabbed a fork, gazing upon the cake eagerly. "A fine slice it is, indeed!" he said with a grand air. "Now let's see how it tastes!"

He jabbed the fork into the cake and took a big chunk out of it that was barely able to fit in his mouth. But said chunk was eaten in one bite nonetheless, and as he chewed it, a big grin spread on his face. "It's absolutely delicious!"

"I'm glad you like it!" Marilee cheered happily.

After he finished every last crumb of the big slice of cake, he hung around Marilee's place for a little while as they made small talk. Long after he had left for the day, Odin was beaming to himself. It was days like these that he couldn't be happier that he had found this other world to escape to: a world where he wasn't scrounging for a living in a war-torn land, but instead, simply helping a friend bake a cake.


	42. In Which Prince Alex is Held On Trial

Leo held onto Lytha's hand as he guided her to the court. "We should have gotten a wheelchair..."

"I will be fine, Leo. Now, we better hurry -- the others are waiting."

"Where in the world have you two been?!" Evanee whisper-shouted.

"Ummm, walking?" Lytha answered.

"She was taking her time in the shower," Leo added.

"Did you really have to say that, Leo?" Lytha moaned.

Noah smiled. "And since when have you been staying with her?"

"Oh, no. I took her to my house instead, so she could make a full recovery," Leo said. "She also was stuffing her face with food this morning."

"...Did you really have to tell them that, Leo?" Lytha asked, embarrassed.

Marilee looked a little nervous about all this.

"Mari, calm down," Lytha told her.

Marilee let out a little caw. "S-Sorry..."

"Don't worry, that jerk can't do anything anymore," Lytha said. "Anyways, we should get going."

Evanee nodded. "Let's. Noah and I will be silent in the corner until we are called to testify. Leo, would you like to join us?"

"Sure..."

A tall, somewhat stocky old man in judge's robes made his way to the courtroom stand. His air was fairly refined, but quietly stern. Apollo also calmly made his way to the courtroom, where the witnesses were to be seated. He knew trials were like to be lengthy and taxing, so he was saving his energy for when he needed it.

A bailiff approached the judge. "Now presenting, the court hearing of Prince Alex of Eden, versus the people. Judge Elephander will be presiding over this court."

Alex walked up to the stand. Lytha was shaking as Evanee looked over at Noah. Evanee wasn't ready for this, but she had to be. Marilee was doing her best to not let out a shrill cry or a caw.

"Are all present and accounted for? Good," the judge said after a nod from the bailiff. "Court is now in session. Will the defense please call up their first witness?"

The prosecution attorney frantically stood up. "Uh, yes, I call Miss Lytha Rose to the stand."

Lytha shakily walked up to the stand.

"Miss Lytha, let's get this over with. What are your claims against Prince Alex of Eden?"

"He not only injured my father, but threatened to kill him and the twins, and one of his spies tried to kill me, too."

"And why, in your perspective, did the Prince do these actions?"

"For the sake of his ego," Lytha answered.

"Objection, your Honor, not probable reason!" the defense attorney exclaimed.

"Tis probable reason, I asked her for her perspective," the prosecution attorney replied, clearing his throat. "Ahem... Miss Lytha, why did the prince come to Kinkan in the first place?"

"He came to bring me back to his kingdom so we could get married."

"Was this a marriage you wished to accept?"

"No."

"And you made it clear to him that you did not wish to accept said marriage?"

"Yes."

"Did he hurt anyone else besides your family?"

"He threaten to expel Marilee from the school," Lytha said.

The prosecution attorney turned to the jury. "You will soon see that this is not all that Prince Alex of Eden has done to this town. It simply skims the surface... no further questions."

"If that will be all, we will now be moving on to the defense's cross examination," Judge Elephander said. "Attorney, if you will."

The defense attorney rose from his seat. "Miss Lytha, did Prince Alex of Eden injure your father with his own hands?"

"...No, but his men did."

"Upon his orders?"

"...I don't know."

"So you did not see or hear Prince Alex tell his soldiers to injure your father?"

"No."

"When he 'threatened' to hurt others, did he threaten to do it himself?"

"Yes."

"And yet there was never any indication that he, not his men, would hurt someone?"

"That's right, he did not."

"Members of the court, let it be known that only making threats that hold real possibility of action are illegal. If one makes a threat with no indication of following through, they cannot be held accountable by the law... no further questions."

"If so, that concludes the cross examination. The witness may leave the stand, and the prosecution shall call up its next witness."

Lytha left the stand. The prosecution called up Apollo Bare, a local cafe owner and a witness of the previous day's events.

The pale-furred bear ambled up to the witness stand, and with his paws placed formally on top of the stand, calmly awaited the set of questions he was to be asked.

"Mr. Bare, could you do us the favor of sharing your story and perspective of yesterday's events with the court?"

"Right then." Apollo cleared his throat. "I was in the back office talking with another employee when Prince Alex showed up and began having an altercation with some customers and employees. When it was just yelling, I let them work it out, but when threats began being thrown around, I let everyone know of my disapproval, particularly when those threats were aimed at children.

"However, when the fighting escalated to collateral property damage--" Here, the bear narrowed his eyes slightly, tightening his jaws. "--I ordered them to take their altercation outside, which was done. After that, the battle became physical with bloodshed occurring, particularly on that part of one of the Prince's accomplices stabbing one of my customers in the back, and one of my employees needing to perform first aid on her in the process. It finally ended when I had the opportunity to call the authorities over to end this debacle. And that's all there is to say."

"Understood, thank you, Apollo Bare. Just for the record, do you know who started threatening who first? And who gave out more threats?"

The bear looked at the attorney evenly. "I can't say I was keeping count, for I was much more concerned with the threats themselves. But I'm quite sure that the Prince began making threats first, at which others responded and the situation escalated."

"Is your establishment still damaged?"

"Indeed so," Apollo said with a factual nod. "There was broken furniture, some shattered glass, and also some scorched walls and carpeting that needs to be replaced and safely disposed of. That will cost a fair bit to repair, and the Prince has not yet offered to compensate the cafe for the damage."

"Has anything like this happened in your establishment previously?"

"Not since the day the cafe was first established," Apollo said pointedly. "And along those lines, to be frank, much of the interior was newly built or installed as well."

"Thank you, no further questions."

"If so, then the defense may now cross-examine the witness."

"Mr. Bare, I do not have many questions for you, but I would like to ask, why were there scorch marks?"

"Apparently one of my customers knows some magic, as it was from a fire spell flung at the Prince after his threats escalated," Apollo answered. "It was powerful enough that some of it hit things beyond its intended target as well."

"Was that customer Lytha Rose?"

"Yes, I believe it was."

The defense attorney nodded. "No further questions, but I would like to express that it was not just the Prince and his entourage who caused these damages."

Apollo rolled his eyes quietly, muttering under his breath, "(If that's what we're arguing about, then I doubt you really have much of a case.)"

"If that is the case, then the witness is now free to go. Are there any other witnesses the prosecution would like to call up?"

"Ah, yes. Next is a certain Evanee Englishvan."

Evanee stood up. She wasn't looking forward to this.

"Miss Evanee, according to the records, you handled much of the communication with the prince," the prosecution attorney said.

"Uh, yep," Evanee gave a small smile.

"And why is that?"

"Because Prince Alex here held Lytha captive when she was in his domain, and Lytha wished to express her free will. The guy looked all over Kinkan for her, and wasn't going to give up. Somebody needed to tell him to **CAW** off."

"Language, please, Miss Englishvan."

"Sorry..."

"So how exactly did you go about telling him to--er, go away?"

"Well, I hoped to do it kindly. I talked to him about why he wanted to marry Lytha, and told him that I was the only way he might have hope of finding her... that's not a crime, right? I was just protecting her... anyway, when I suggested that marrying him might make her unhappy, he told me to get out, and that there isn't anything to be upset about if you married royalty. When I suggested that he may not truly love her if he doesn't allow her to be herself, he had his guards take me out and toss me onto the ground, which caused me to not to be able to walk for the next few days."

Lytha muttered, "Which caused Noah to almost kill someone..."

"Can you tell me some of the events that went down yesterday evening?"

"Welp, he had requested to meet me, also paying me for practically breaking my knees. And so we did... He demanded I tell him where Lytha was, and when I refused to tell him the truth, he roughly pulled in her two younger siblings. Then I suggested that Lytha was dead, and he put a sword to my throat. I told him to do it, causeeeeee I mean, can you hold yourself up in court after doing that? I dunno. I thought he was going to, when he instead threatened to kill the twins. Everything kinda happened fast, and a friend of ours named Lucy stood up against him, and then he brought in Lytha's half-beaten-up father... sooooo."

"Thank you for the details. Did you have anything to do with the fight that commenced?"

"Not really; after he threatened my life, I just sat down and let others do their thing."

"Alright, no further questions."

"Then, let us move on to the cross-examination," Judge Elephander said. "Defense, if you will."

"Miss Evanee, did you or did you not lie to the defendant?"

"Well, I... yes, I lied to him, but in the interest of protecting Lytha."

"And did you or did you not suggest you all meet at the cafe, in which violent events occurred?"

"Well, yes, but that was so I could deal with it peacefully," Evanee said, twitching, as they seemed to be twisting her words.

"Miss Evanee, I think that it is in the court's best interest to consider that you should be put on trial. Not only did you lie to the prince on multiple occasions about Miss Lytha's whereabouts, which ultimately caused the outburst, but you are also responsible for where and when the events took place. In addition, it is highly doubtful that you were actually injured, therefore you must be pretending to be so for money. You lied about your intentions, committing fraud, you spoke for someone else, and you manipulated and provoked the prince."

"Objection, your Honor! Badgering the witness," the prosecution attorney said.

"Sustained; Defense, please refrain from slandering the witness. This case is about Prince Alex, not her. Leave your speculations for later."

"I've said all I've needed to say, your Honor," the prosecution said. "No further questions."

"Very well, Prosecution. Please call your next witness to the stand."

"I call a certain Miss Marilee to the stand."

Marilee nearly let out a caw before making her way to the stand. She was internally telling herself that everything would be okay.

"Miss Marilee, could you tell me about your interactions with the Prince?"

The girl frowned a little. "Well, seeing the guards around town and school didn't leave a good impression... When I first met him, he seemed very polite and asked about Lythie. However, when I said that I knew her.... He suddenly got aggressive and grabbed my shoulder. He let go when I said he was hurting me... and after that, I never saw him until the incident at the cafe."

"And at the cafe, you were the one to take care of Lytha's father and the twins during the fight outside?"

Marilee nodded. "Yes. The twins were terrified and her father was injured badly. The fact he used them to try and lure Lytha out was... really bad..."

"Thank you, I've submitted the medical examination of her father to the evidence, if anyone would like to see the details. No further questions."

"Defense, you may proceed with the cross-examination," the judge said.

"Thank you your honor. Marilee, may I confirm with you that Lytha’s father was not, in fact, beaten by the Prince, but rather his guards."

"That I'm not sure. He was dragged in by the guards. However, the guards had never reacted that violently, as they were seen around town and school."

"And Miss Marilee, did you... caw at the prince?"

"Yes, it's my verbal tic."

"Your verbal tic? Is there not a possibility that that can be threatening, especially in a town like this?"

"Nope, caw."

Lytha was silently giggling in the back.

"I, uh--no further questions."

"We will now move on to the defense. Please call up your first witness."

"I call the defendant, Prince Alex of Eden, to the stand," the defense attorney said.

Prince Alex walked up to the stand.

"First off, do you plead guilty or not guilty to the crimes you have been charged?"

"Not guilty."

"Prince Alex, you have heard the testimonies of the opposing side, you know what you are being held to... please use your testimony to fill in any doubts that you are, indeed, not guilty."

"I believe what I did was right, so I could get my bride."

"Yes, please craft a testimony describing your side of the events."

"It is true that I was looking for Lytha, but I never resorted to threats or killing to look for her. When Miss Evanee wouldn't tell me where my bride was, in the heat of emotion I decided to be more 'forward'. As for the father, I never asked anyone to hurt him. Maybe it was the local townspeople who saw an opening to beat up Lytha's father, and put the blame on me," Prince Alex said. "As for the injuries to Miss Evanee, the blame is solely on my guard. All I said was to escort Miss Evanee out of the room; after that, I don't know what happened. As for Miss Marilee, I must admit at that time I was so happy to finally find a clue that I grabbed her by impulse."

"I have no further questions. As you can see, my client has not committed the crimes you all have claimed of him, so unless you have evidence, I'd strongly rethink trying to accuse him," the defense attorney said.

Lytha wanted to stand up and shout, "Liar!" But she decided to hold it in.

"If so, then the prosecution may now cross-examine this witness," Judge Elephander said.

"Prince Alex, I would like to let you know... lying under oath is illegal. You must treat the law with respect. That being said, do you wish to revise any of your statements?"

"I speak the truth," he replied.

"Very well, then... I would like to let the statements of previous witnesses be brought up. Prince Alex, did you not say, when you had your sword pointed at Miss Evanee's throat, 'why would you kill her if you could kill the twins first?'"

"I never said that," Alex said, fingers crossed behind his back.

"After your arrest, five different witnesses were also taken into custody for questioning. They did not have time to collaborate on a story, but their stories all matched. I have the records that you said those words from both an Evanee Englishvan and a Noah Amcer."

"Maybe they were paid with money to say that," Alex said.

The prosecution went on. "In addition, Lytha, Lucy, and Noah also testified that you said, and I quote, 'I'll do whatever it takes to marry Lytha, even it it means destroying lives'."

"...No comment."

"Someone is clearly lying, your Highness, and considering there are three words against one, your side of the case is not holding up well. I'll ask a final time, would you like to revise your statement?"

"No."

The prosecution attorney slammed on the table. "You held a sword to two people's throats, threatened to ruin at least three people's lives, had planned to marry a woman against her will, with three people harmed by people who work under you, one beaten half to death, the other stabbed in the back. And you are telling me that you are innocent?"

"oBjEcTiON! BadGEriNg ThE WItnESs...." the defense attorney said awkwardly.

"It's become clear to me that his Majesty Alex has now committed perjury before this very court," Judge Elephander said sternly. "The attorney is right to question the witness. _Objection overruled!_ "

"Thank you, your Honor. No further questions, I rest my case."

The old judge nodded. "Very well. If that is all for this witness, the defense may call on its next witness--" He paused, glancing at the witness stand. "...If there are any other witnesses for the defense?"

"...There are no more... witnesses," the defense attorney replied.

The judge raised an eyebrow. "...Very well. If that will be all, then I am ready to hand down my verdict."

Marilee gently gripped Lytha’s hand for support. Lytha gripped back.

"It will be fine, right?" Lytha asked. "He will get what he deserves, right...?"

Evanee tried to smile. "Unless the judge is corrupt."

"...I hope not," Lytha said.

"It will be fine, Lytha," Leo said to her.

Noah shrugged. "I think it will; both attorneys are really good, but the defense didn't have much to go off of. And since the prince has a lot of ego, he will get it harder for not pleading guilty."

"Yeah..." Lytha trailed off.

The old man cleared his throat. "The accused, Prince Alex of Eden, stands here charged of the following: criminal threats, attempted kidnapping, white-collar crimes, second-degree assault, and attempted murder -- as well as perjury," the judge added stiffly. "I, Judge Elephander, hereby deem this defendant..."

Evanee was internally screaming.

After a pause, the judge took a breath. "Guilty on all accounts."

Lytha hugged Evanee. "We did it!"

"Oh, thank goodness," Evanee said.

Lytha started crying. "We finally did it..."

Noah smiled. "You're free, Lytha!"

Lytha hugged Noah, Leo, and Marilee.

"I sentence Prince Alex to 50 years in prison without parole, as well as a fine of--"

The judge named an amount that made Apollo's eyes widen. "Ooooof... that's a chunk."

"No kidding," Evanee remarked.

Lytha bowed at Apollo. "I'm so sorry about the burn marks; let me pay for the repairs."

Apollo lightly waved a paw in her direction. "It should be fine. I'll just put the amount on your tab, so don't sweat about getting it to me right away."

"I'm working the disruptions off as well like we discussed, yes?" Evanee smiled.

"Court is now adjourned!" Judge Elephander concluded the trial with a dramatic bang of his gavel.

Marilee made quiet little chirping noises of excitement.

Then, an unfamiliar lady walked up to the group...

Noah smiled. "Hello, Miss, can I help you?"

Lytha turned to the stranger. "....Mum..."

Evanee stood up. "That's your mother?"

"Yes..."

Marilee blinked twice at this, but was ready to protect Lytha, just in case.

"What do you want, Sara...?" Lytha asked without looking at her. "I thought you said we shouldn't see each other anymore, and that we are no longer daughter and mother."

"And YOU were the one who told the prince about Lytha," Evanee added.

"I... came to apologize," the woman said.

"A lil late for that, bud," Evanee rolled her eyes.

"Well, it is not needed," Lytha replied.

Sara started crying a little. "I understand... but, at least take this." She handed Lytha a bag of money.

After a pause, Lytha handed back the money. "I don't need a noble's money. Keep it," she said. "I will say this: we are no longer related, and I have already accepted that I have no mother. So leave -- what happened today is but a memory I will soon forget."

Sara bowed and left. Lytha stood there silently for a moment.

Evanee sighed. "I think I'mma go home and take a nap."

"Oh, okay, I think I will do the same," Lytha said. "See you guys tomorrow?"

Lytha and Leo waved goodbye at the group before leaving together.


	43. In Which Odin and Dr. Crou Have an Emotional Talk

The raven boy stood staring at the cafe entrance with confusion at the "Temporarily Closed for Repairs" sign on the front door. "Huh? Repairs? What happened?"

Lytha was walking and saw Odin at the cafe. "Hey, Odin!"

He turned around and saw the familiar redhead. "Oh, Lytha, you're here. Haven't seen you in a while. Been busy?"

Lytha had bags under her eyes. "Ummm, yeah, something like that. Anyways, it looks like the cafe will be closed for a while after what happened."

Odin tilted his head. "After _what_ happened?"

"Ohh, umm... the prince, and maybe some fire spell..."

Odin scowled indignantly. "Oh, yeah, I've been hearing things around about that stupid prince. He got himself arrested and was punished by human law enforcement, am I right?"

"Yeah, I'm just glad he is gone."

Odin put his hands on his hips defiantly. "Well, good riddance. One less nasty human like that running around." He glanced at the cafe door. "But, uh, I guess it means we can't go to the cafe right now, then?"

Evanee popped her head out. "Oh, the cafe is still open, by the way."

Lytha tackled Evanee. "Evaneeeeee!"

"I know it says closed, but I'm still serving--AAH! What are you now, Liam and Lisa?"

"Maybeee... come on, Odin, let's go in. Why don't I treat you to some food while we catch up?"

"Really? Sure, I won't say no to food from you!" Odin said with a grin.

"Well, as long as you don't mind the repairs, you're free to come in... we still need to earn money while it's closed since... ya know, repairs."

Odin raised an eyebrow. "Soooo, you're opening it just for us? Ooh, the VIP treatment. Sure, if we aren't going to get kicked out."

"You won't," Evanee smiled.

Lytha and Odin entered the cafe and took seats by the window. "So, go ahead and order!"

Evanee clicked her pen. "Yep, go for it. I'll bring out whatever you need, but otherwise I'll be helping out to refurbish things."

Odin picked up a menu and squinted at it. "Hmm, what looks interesting that I haven't tried...?"

"Evanee, can I get five cups of cinnamon coffee with extra caffeine, and some tiramisu?"

"F-five?" Evanee asked.

"I, ummm... had to stay up these past few days due to orders and school."

Evanee sighed. "I suppose since the Prince is gone, it's back to work and school, and no play for you."

After a few moments, Odin plapped down the menu and pointed at a particular entree. "This thing! I wanna try this thing. It's called, umm..." He squinted at it again. "...'sushi'. That's supposed to be like chopped fish, right?"

Evanee couldn't help but laugh. "I'll get you some sushi, Odin. That's Apollo's favorite."

Odin blinked. "Huh. Well, if Apollo likes it, it can't be that bad."

Lytha nodded at Evanee. "Yeah, with my father beaten up, he has to recover, and I have to catch up with schoolwork, which I'm fine with. I also have another performance in about two weeks time, so I have practice as well."

"In that case, I'll talk to Noah about helping you out; he's been lounging at my place all day, and it's starting to get on my nerves."

"Ahahaha... it's fine, I already trouble you guys enough."

Evanee flicked her pen behind her ear. "I don't really care what you say, I'm making both of you deal with it." With a smile and a wink at Lytha, Evanee left the two to head into the kitchen.

Odin turned to Lytha after Evanee left. "Your father got beaten up? Did he get into a fight?"

"...Umm, the prince apparently ordered people to beat him up, so he is in pretty bad shape, and the prince also tried to kill the twins..."

The raven boy looked both unsurprised and scornful. "Oh, that human scum again. Why am I not surprised? I almost thought this world didn't have as many humans like that as there are in mine, but maybe I'm actually wrong."

"Don't worry, the twins are fine, and my dad is okay; he just needs a lot of rest. So while my dad is recovering, I'm taking over the shop orders for a while."

"Yeah, that figures. How bothersome that must be for you. But you're all alive, so that's still a good thing."

 _I can't tell him about the stabbing..._ Lytha thought. "So... Odin, how have you been?"

He paused, hesitating. "....Uh, fine. Nothing new."

Lytha looked at him with puzzlement. "Okay... you sure?"

Evanee walked back out with the food, placing their items respectively in front of them.

"Thanks, Evanee," Lytha said.

Odin took the opportunity to avoid the question by burying himself in his meal. "Ooh, it looks like a bundle of hay, but with fish and rice instead of grain. Wonder how it tastes." He glanced at the pair of hand-sized sticks that were served with the meal. "Hmm? What're these for?"

"Hehehe... those are called chopsticks. It's what humans use to eat sushi with."

The raven boy peered closely at the pair of sticks. "Huh... so do they like, use them to pick them up?" He grabbed them, and with only a moment of fiddling with it between his fingers, held them in his hand and clicked the two sticks together. "That's kinda convenient."

"You learn fast," Lytha said, drinking her coffee.

Odin shrugged. "It's not too different from using my beak. Just gotta be used to your hands picking it up instead, and I'm pretty accustomed to using hands." With that, he aimed for one of the sushi rolls and picked it up, studying it for a moment.

Lytha giggled, and she started drinking her second cup. "Ughhh, at this rate, I'm going to faint..."

Odin raised an eyebrow at her. "Then stop drinking whatever it is you're drinking. Is that what's causing it?"

"I still have 50 orders that need to be done by the evening... so I need something to keep me awake. Just don't tell Evanee."

Odin sighed, shrugging again. "'Kay, but it's not my fault if she finds out anyway." At that, he put the roll in his mouth. "Hmm... it really is raw fish. But so carefully cut... never had fish cut so precisely before."

"Glad to see you liking sushi," Lytha said.

Just then, the door opened, and Dr. Crou walked in with some boxes of supplies to help fix the cafe. "Evanee, where did Apollo say he wanted these?"

"Left corner of the back counter!" Evanee shouted with effort, carrying two boxes much taller than her out of the back room.

"Can I help?" Lytha asked.

"No... need," Evanee said, placing the boxes down.

"Right. I told you not to overexert yourself!"

"I'm fine, but thank you Crou," Evanee replied.

Odin's eyes brightened at seeing his familiar friend. "Heym, umgh--" Realizing he couldn't talk with his mouth full, he swallowed his food first and then exclaimed, "Hey, Dr. Crou! Haven't seen you in a while! How've ya been?"

"Oh, Odin! It's been a while! Hold on just a sec--" Dr. Crou went to the back counter to drop off the boxes. Then he popped around the corner and greeted the two.

"I've been pretty busy," Dr. Crou said to Odin. "Moving into a new place and all."

"Hi, Dr. Crou," Lytha said.

Dr. Crou turned and addressed the girl. "Hello, Miss Lytha. How is your back feeling today?"

"I'm fine, Dr. Crou, don't worry," Lytha just waved her hand.

"Really? Usually you would need about three weeks' rest for an injury like that. Did you get the prescription I gave to Leo?"

"Yes, I did. Besides, I'm not doing anything that will strain my back."

Odin looked at Lytha wryly. "Injury like what? Are you turning into an old human lady and hurting your back like one, Lytha?"

"Oh, ummm..."

"Hm? Wait, Odin, she didn't tell you?" Dr. Crou asked.

Odin stared at Dr. Crou blankly. "Tell me what?"

Dr. Crou couldn't smile with his beak, but if he could, a large mischievous would be spreading from ear to ear.

"I, ummm..." Lytha was panicking and sweat was dripping from her face.

He leaned over to Odin and started telling him the story. "So you know that Prince who got arrested a while back?"

"...Oh boy," Lytha said.

Odin nodded. "Yeah, that scum of a human being?"

"Right, that scumbag! He came into this cafe to meet with Evanee, and almost all of us were here!"

"Lytha got stabbed in the back right after we arrested him, plus he ruined my favorite dress, and also terrified me!" Evanee said.

Lytha started drinking her fourth cup of coffee.

"He came in like, 'Where is Lytha?!'" Dr. Crou said, putting on his best douche voice.

Lytha was holding back her laughter -- which was very painful because of the wound.

"Evanee was all, 'You don't what love is, you heartless scumbag!'" he imitated in a shrill voice. "Then the Prince dragged her dad in and the twins, and threatened to kill them! Lytha threw a fireball, which scorched that wall over there." He pointed at the burnt wallpaper. Dr. Crou was clearly enjoying recounting what happened that day.

"Hey, that was a pretty good impression of me," Evanee smiled, letting her hair down for it to breathe.

"Why thank you."

Lytha turned to Evanee. "Can I get another five cups?"

"Five more? Girl, you're gonna clog a toilet on all that."

 _I can't tell her about the order..._ "Umm, yeah, I have a ton of homework to do, so please?"

Odin paused. "Wait... all of you were there, too?"

"You, Selene, and Sagi were basically the ones who missed out," Evanee said.

"Let's see..." Dr. Crou started counting on his fingers. "There was me, Lytha, Marilee, Lucy, Evanee, Noah... Apollo, the twins... Lytha's dad. I think that's it?"

"Leo was there too," Lytha said.

"I like Leo, he's a cool guy," Evanee added.

"Oh right, Leo. He assisted me with the first aid. You should have seen me use advance healing magic I was talking about. See, when they went outside, a spy stabbed Lytha in the back."

"Odin, you should have seen his magic! If I weren't in the middle of a panic attack, I would have been starstruck!" Evanee said.

"And by the way, I'm fine, Odin," Lytha said.

"Tsk tsk. You are fine now, but you had a punctured lung that was filling up with blood quickly," Dr. Crou said.

"Meep..."

Leo walked in the cafe looking for Lytha, and spotted her. "There you are, Lytha, your father was looking for you. Plus, you got another 20 orders that need to be finished by tonight."

Lytha groaned. "More orders... Evanee, I need to take out two liters of cinnamon coffee, please."

Dr. Crou sighed. "That amount of work will cause a great deal of stress on your body, Lytha..."

"Not like I have a choice..."

"(You can always tell the customers that the whole ordeal with the Prince caused you great stress and you need time off?)" Dr. Crou said in a whisper.

Odin, blinking bewilderedly, lay back in his chair and sighed heavily. "Figures, the one day I decide not to come is when the whole place almost blows up. I'm not sure whether to be proud of or disappointed about that fact."

Dr. Crou chuckled. "Oh, I don't know, Odin. The whole group was as dramatic as you told me they were."

Lytha sighed. "The regulars were happy that my father's shop was back in business, since when the prince had come, they were scared to get their shoes fixed -- partly because the guards were also outside the house."

"Hm, that's unfortunate," Dr. Crou said.

"Anyways, I should get going. Thanks, Leo, for telling about the orders -- and sorry that you have to help me," Lytha said.

"No problem," Leo said, picking up Lytha's coffee and held out his hand. "Come on, let's go."

Lytha stood up and blushed holding Leo's hand, waving at Dr. Crou and Odin. "Oh also, Odin, don't worry about the bill; it has already been paid. Bye, you two! Bye, Evanee!! See you tomorrow!" Lytha yelled out.

With that, Lytha and Leo walked out the door.

Dr. Crou let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Quite a handful..."

"Did... she just... walk out the door... holding hands with Leo?" Evanee asked.

"Mm-hmm," Dr. Crou replied, who didn't see what the issue was.

Odin, not wanting to leave perfectly good food uneaten, continued to finish off his plate as the pair left. In jest, Dr. Crou tried to pick off a piece of sushi from Odin's plate. Odin's fingers flit to the side upon seeing movement from the corner of his eye, and he poked Dr. Crou's hand with emphasis. "Nope, this is mine!" he exclaimed, smirking.

Dr. Crou chuckled as he withdrew his hands. "I'll come back once I help Apollo bring a few more boxes."

"Huh, she didn't tell me they were an item... Korvus, you want me to make you some?"

He got up from Odin's side and made his way to the back counter. "No, it's alright."

Suddenly Lytha ran back into the cafe, panting. "Evanee... I almost forgot... can you... pass... this to Mr Bare.... hahhhh," Lytha said, handing Evanee a bag of money inbetween breaths. "Also, me and Leo are not dating; it's just something the twins told him to do to embarrass me, just to clear up any misunderstanding. Okay, bye!" Lytha speedwalked out the door again.

Dr. Crou gave Evanee a knowing look. "Right. _Sure_ they are."

Having finished off the last bit of food from his plate, he grabbed the cloth napkin next to him and wiped his mouth. "Well, I'm done! That was good. Something interesting and different. Maybe I'll try another kind next time."

Dr. Crou finished bringing in supplies for Apollo and came back to Odin, finding an clean plate in front of the boy. "Oh? That must have been some really good sushi."

"It _was_ good! Though, I don't make a habit of wasting food, so I would have finished it regardless," he said somewhat matter-of-factly.

"Yup, never waste food. It's a shame to the food and those who prepared it," Dr. Crou said as he cleared the table.

Odin nodded to himself pensively. "Yeah... hey, so I heard you left for a little bit to go somewhere, since you weren't at the cafe. Where'd ya go? Was it anything major?"

"Hm?" Dr. Crou looked at Odin after he finished tidying up the dishes. "Well... I needed to go back to my old world. To take care of unfinished business." He looked pensively far off into the distance, as if recounting some events.

The boy gazed at Dr. Crou curiously. "Oh... so it was important, whatever it was. Were you able to do what you wanted to do?"

"I did." Dr. Crou gave Odin a gentle nod. "I was able to come to terms with what happened to my friends and loved ones."

He started pulling up a chair next to Odin, folding his hands on the table as if he was getting ready to reveal more of his story.

Odin tilted his head with puzzlement, but turns toward him in response, ready to listen to whatever he had to say.

"I don't think I told you, did I? That the ravens and crows in my world were at war against these beings called The Swan Warriors. The Swan Warriors followed this Swan Deity who granted them special magical abilities."

"Hmm... I don't think you have, no," Odin said thoughtfully. "Well, you told me about how they were at war, but not about with whom."

"That's right, I didn't tell you that. I didn't know if you needed to hear about it," Dr. Crou replied. "We expected that there would be causalities, losses from our numbers as well as the other side. But that old human named Drosselmeyer and his alpha creation, The Raven, were ruthless in their ambitions. I honestly don't think they wanted to defeat the Swan Warriors... For they sacrificed their men to achieve that...

"I lost all my family and most of my friends because of them. And I believe I was running away from that problem when I came to this world. So... that's why I needed to go back. I had to return to come to terms with what had happened to them." Dr. Crou pulled out a journal from his breast pocket. "And I am glad that I did, for I found some treasures I would not have known about otherwise."

Odin glanced at the journal and instantly could tell how important it is to him. He gave Dr. Crou a slight grin. "Then I'm real glad you found it." He glanced off to the side. "It's sad, and shameful... that other ravens did something I thought only humans were cruel enough to do."

Dr. Crou gave the boy a sad look and ruffled his hair. "Yes, it is sad that other ravens did such cruel things. But you will be surprised to know that some humans also accomplished some of the greatest feats of kindness too."

Odin gazed up at Dr. Crou in puzzlement. "What sorta things are you talking about?"

"Well," he lifted a hand underneath his beak in thought, "One human saved my wife, who was a soldier injured on the battlefield. He was the leader of the Swan Warriors, and could have taken her life like the other humans, but he didn't. He healed her back to health and spared her life. And another human who was trapped in a collapsed building with me, we put aside our differences and worked together to make it out alive. He later advocated for me to the other Swan Warriors to be sheltered when I rebelled against my kind, against the cruelty they had done to my family. Both sacrificed their lives in the final battle against Drosselmeyer and the Raven..."

Odin gazed sidelong. "In my world, if I ever saw humans like the ones you're talking about... they ended up like that too, but oftentimes the thing they were trying to do failed anyway. At the very least... your dear friends' sacrifices weren't in vain."

Dr. Crou remembered that Drosselmeyer was the one who wrote Odin's world, connecting why they failed... His face grew dark at the thought. But he looked back at Odin with a small bit of hope. "Yes, their sacrifices weren't in vain. I have a few other crow friends who survived and some human friends who made it until the end. They were..." he took in a deep breath, "...the ones who had fallen that I needed to come to peace with."

Dr. Crou looked at the journal absently, trying to put something to words. "Odin, I talked with the human, Autor. I was curious about your story and someone was worried about you, so they approached me. To ask me to help you..."

Odin blinked, startled at this new statement. "Autor? The human... the human who told me about the story I'm from..." Odin paused. "...So, you know about what's happened. What I'm trying to figure out right now. What I'm... running away from."

Dr. Crou patted Odin's head fondly. "It's okay, Odin. I'll be here to help you." Even without a proper mouth, one could say they saw the gentlest of smiles coming from the doctor. "You don't need to run away anymore."

Odin blinked rapidly, as if he was fighting back tears. "But I... I don't know what to do. I don't know how I'm going to solve this. And sooner or later, I'll be forced to find a way somehow. How to stop a heart from inflicting the world with its curses."

Dr. Crou lifted the boy into an embrace to comfort him. "It's okay. We will find out, together. You and me." Dr. Crou said, patting the boy's back. "You don't need to do this alone, okay, Odin? You don't need to do this alone."

While in any other circumstance he might have objected, at this point all he could do was tighten his eyes shut and grip Dr. Crou's coat vest as if he were hanging on for dear life from an endless abyss below him.

Evanee couldn't help but stay in the back and pretend she didn't notice. She didn't want to interrupt this moment, not when it seemed to mean so much to them. The girl really had tried to not eavesdrop... and she wouldn't have understood what they were speaking of at all, if her journal hadn't already talked about it... She hid herself in the backroom, fighting back the tears of not only the stories of the people around her, but of her own. They didn't need to see this side of her. No one did. Not ever.

Dr Crou leaned his head onto Odin's. "Odin, you did well. Holding on your own until now, and all by yourself. You did so well." He held his embrace a little more tightly, but not suffocating. "I'm proud of you."

His voice broke. "What's there to be proud of?" Odin said spitefully, his shaky voice barely holding. "If I didn't want this problem in the first place, then I shouldn't have tried to help that human like I did. I shouldn't have taken his heart. It's... it's my problem. I caused it. It's my burden to bear..."

"It's okay. It's a mistake that you made, and you are trying to own up to it. But, don't you remember a crow's greatest strength?"

The raven boy sniffled. "...What.. what do you mean?"

"A crow's greatest strength is in their numbers. Crows are small, but they call on their friends to defend their home. Don't think this is something you need to bear alone. Let us be your strength."

Odin's breath caught. In a small voice, he asked, "...You're my friend? You'll help me?"

"Yes. I will help you soar to the stars and beyond if I have to. You are not just my friend. I am not just a friend. You are my family now."

Odin burst out crying in anguish and relief. He wrapped his arms around Dr. Crou's neck, giving him the biggest, tightest hug he had ever given anyone in his life. "...Thank you so much, Dr. Crou."

Dr. Crou hugged Odin back, tears trickling down his face. At last he was relieved that the little one had taken down his walls and opened up his heart. Whatever came next would surely be daunting, but now he knew they could overcome it together.


	44. In Which Sagi Talks with Lucy and Selene Again

Sagi set out after school one day, heading for the dorms. However, as she stepped outside the gates, she noticed two familiar people walking in her path, one of whom she'd seen recently, and the other not quite so much. "Oh, Lucy, Selene -- I haven't seen you in a while, Selene."

"Huh? Oh, hey Sagi! It's sure been a while. How are you doing?"

"All right, I suppose," Sagi said, though not enthusiastically. "I'm relieved that all the fuss about that foreign prince has finally died down, at least."

"Oh, it did? What happened?" Selene asked.

Sagi explained in brief what she had heard around, that after the prince and his entourage actually caused a major injury to someone, he was taken in by the authorities and given a harsh, but just, punishment. "All's well that ends well, you could say," Sagi concluded. "Apparently the incident where he was arrested was in that cafe we met at a while ago. I hadn't been there at the time, though."

"That is good to know. At least there is no trouble anymore," Selene said.

"He deserved something worse. But, I am not the judge, so I guess it is what it is. At least he is gone," Lucy said.

Sagi nodded with a sigh. "I admit it doesn't alleviate a number of my other worries, but one less is better than nothing."

"True. However, is there something else that worries you right now?" Selene asked.

Sagi paused, thinking. "Well... do you remember what we had been talking about at the cafe once? I recall you left quite abruptly, and Lucy and I were afraid we might have upset you for some reason..."

"What? No, you did not upset me in any way. Don't you worry!"

Sagi glanced at Selene, considering her words. "If you say so," Sagi said hesitantly. "We were talking about how we seemed to remember different things, and about the multiple raven incidents this town has experienced, one of which I witnessed personally. I haven't found out anything else of that since then, though."

"Well, about that, the reason I left abruptly is something related to that..."

Sagi looked at Selene questioningly, silently listening for her explanation.

"Well, you see...I can remember how I was just minding my own business just some days after I escaped from something I cannot remember anymore. Then, the sky suddenly grew dark. I played with the thought that it may be a simple solar eclipse...that was when I heard a piercing noise. Noises of ravens. Thousands of them.

"I did not know what was going on, because I heard people screaming, and I tried to escape, but the gates wouldn't open. So I ran into the house I live in and barricaded the door. I saw through the window... and what I saw froze me in place -- I saw red eyes and a large, purple smile. I backed away. I was scared...and then, it started raining.

"I wish it was normal rain. But it turned out to be drips of blood. Not soon after, the noises increased and... I saw... humanoid crows... These noises went on for a longer time, until suddenly a bright light was outside -- and what I saw...I cannot describe it, but it erased my doubts. It gave me hope. I saw a light entity dancing with these humanoid crows. Minutes later, the noises finally stopped and I saw the sunlight breaking through the previously dark sky. The sky cleared. This nightmare was over.

"Now, I do not know what happened on that fateful day," Selene said, "but the reason why I forgot some of it is that I tried to forget. But... after our conversation, these memories surfaced again."

Sagi gasped quietly. "That... that was the second incident that I heard of... the one that had happened not too long before I first arrived in this town."

"You said there were three of these incidents, right? What was the third one?" Selene asked.

"The third incident..." Sagi murmured, pensive. "That was the one I saw for myself... when the Raven appeared once again, but the townspeople were not turned into those ravens that you described before."

"They did not? What happened instead?"

Sagi glanced somewhere in the distance, toward the town cathedral. "We were protected... by Ahiru's magic," she replied. "She shielded us from the blood rain when the Raven tried to do it again."

"To think that alone this girl protected an entire town...she must have been very skilled in magic, then," Selene said.

Sagi hesitated. The fact that Fakir was a Spinner was not made public knowledge, even though Ahiru's role in it was well known. But considering the circumstances... "She had help from someone who was very powerful, yes. Someone who brought out that magic through her." Sagi paused. "I'm not sure if you're aware of what Spinning is...?"

"No, I do not know... is Spinning maybe the thing Lytha told us about? The 'writing things into reality' thing?"

Sagi sighed. "Miss Lytha loves to talk, certainly..." She nodded briefly. "To put it simply, it was with the magic of someone with that power that Ahiru was able to perform such deeds."

"Still, I consider this very impressive," Selene remarked.

Lucy stayed calm the whole time, but surely listened to what Selene said. Ravens haunting this town... suddenly, a certain feeling was rising up within her again. "Was there a reason in particular why they always haunted this town...?"

Sagi's brow furrowed. "I imagine... ever since the Raven had been sealed within the town. He had the crows at his beck and call."

"Why would one lock such a destructive creature into such a peaceful town? What was the intention?" Lucy asked.

Sagi put a hand to her chin. "I may not understand this entirely, but I believe that has to do with the first incident, when the Prince of this town and the Raven first appeared in this world, much longer ago. I was told the Prince himself sealed the Raven away, as he had been unable to defeat the Raven outright -- or perhaps, not without great loss of life to the town itself," she pondered somberly.

"Heh...the creature may have been slain, but who says that all of its influence has been vanquished from this town?" Lucy remarked.

Sagi blinked, her eyes widening with alarm. The child Odin _had_ appeared in the town recently... "Oh, umm... perhaps so," she replied vaguely with a nervous smile.

"I would not be surprised. After all, 'after the storm' can sometimes also be 'before the storm'," Lucy added.

Sagi frowned with worry. "Out of one storm, and into another... I hope that isn't the case."

"Life is unpredictable," Lucy replied. "We may know what is happening right now, but no one knows what could happen in the next few minutes."

Sagi gazed off into the distance again, but seemingly even farther away than the cathedral. "I suppose that's always the case, for better and for worse."

"While we are already at it... say, is something bothering you, Lucy? You seem calmer than usual," Selene asked her.

"...Maybe there is. Maybe not... but I assure you, I am fine."

"Are you sure...?" Selene asked.

"I am, I promise..."

Sagi glanced toward Lucy with concerned eyes, seeming to want to say something to her, but unable to think of what she could say.

"If you say so..." Selene trailed off.

Then Sagi realized that they had just arrived at the dormitory grounds. "I suppose Lucy and I are off to our dorm rooms, then," Sagi said to Selene. "It was nice to talk with you again. Hopefully I might see you again soon."

"I hope that, too, it sure has been nice!" Selene said.

Sagi nodded with a small smile, and with a soft wave of farewell, turned to head back to the girls' dormitory building.

"Well then, I suppose I'll see you later, Lucy," Selene said.

"Yes... have a good day, Selene."

Selene nodded. "You too."

After Lucy headed into her dorm room and Selene turned around, she quietly said to herself, "I just hope you are truly alright."


	45. In Which the Twins Order Lytha's Birthday Cake

The twins entered the cafe. "Mr. Bare?"

"What's up, kiddos?" Noah asked, sipping his cup of English Breakfast.

"We are looking for Mr. Bare," the twins asked.

"Uh, I think he's out right now," Noah replied.

"What should we do, Liam?"

"I don't know, Lisa."

"...Why are you looking for him?" he asked.

"We need to order a cake!" they said.

"Hmm? For what?" Noah asked, closing his pocketwatch.

"Sissy's birthday is tomorrow," Liam replied. "So we are ordering a cake for her. But Mr. Bare is not here, so we don't know what to do..."

"Can you help us buy a cake?" the twins asked, looking at Noah.

"Sure, kiddos," he said.

"Yes! Are you also coming to the party?"

"I suppose I am now."

Then Evanee entered through the front door, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Hey, it's Sister Evanee!" Liam exclaimed.

"Sister Evanee!!" Both the twins tackled Evanee.

"Ow... every time," Evanee said.

Leo appeared from behind the twins, holding out his hand. "You okay?"

Evanee's smile brightened. "I am now." She takes it, getting up. "Where'd you come from?"

"Oh, while walking I saw the twins, and decided to follow them."

"Leo!!" This time the twins tackled Leo.

"Nevertheless, it is nice to see you," Evanee gave a small chuckle as the two tackle him;.

"Great..." Noah mumbled.

Leo just stood still and petted the twins' heads. "Hi there, you two."

"Are you both coming to the party tomorrow?" Lisa asked.

"Party?" Leo asked.

"Hm? She didn't tell you? Lytha's birthday is tomorrow," Evanee said.

"Well, Lytha was busy doing orders, so I guess she forgot," Leo said. "Hmmm, so Lytha's birthday is tomorrow... Sure, I will be there."

"Even better...." Noah muttered.

"Yay! How about you, Sister Evanee?" the twins asked.

"Of course I will," Evanee said.

"Oh, Sister Evanee, can we order a custom cake for Sissy?" Liam asked.

Evanee bit her lip. "With all the construction, I dunno if Mr. Bare has time.... But I'd be willing to make it for you all."

"Aww, okay, but Sister Evanee's cakes are delicious, so I'm sure Sissy will be happy," Lisa said with a smile.

Evanee smiled back.

"So, you bake?" Noah smirked.

"You sure are amazing, Miss Evanee," Leo said.

She flushed. "Why, thank you. It means a lot coming from a magic user," Evanee said. "And yes, Noah, I do bake."

"Sissy always likes chocolate cake," Lisa said.

Evanee pulled her hair up into a bun. "Chocolate cake it is, then!"

"Yay!!"

A loud bump was heard outside the cafe. Then someone entered the cafe.

"Owwww......that hurts," Lytha was rubbing her forehead, and from afar you could notice the dark circles under her eyes and her messy hair. "Sorry to bother you, Evanee, but have you seen the twins?"

"Oh no!" The twins hid behind Evanee.

"Why? Has something happened?" Noah asked.

"No, no, nothing like that," Lytha said, yawning.

Then a student burst into the cafe and started crying. "Miss Lytha!! Please, you are already late for the rehearsal, we can't waste any more time!"

"Oh boy... calm down, I'm going, I'm going. I'll see you guys later, then! Please take care of the twins," Lytha walked out of the cafe with the student.

Apollo Bare came out of the back room, curious to find the twins and Noah here.

"Mr. Bare!" the twins exclaimed.

"Hey there, Lisa and Liam! Did Sister Evanee take care of your order?" the bear asked.

"Yep, Sister Evanee is going to make the cake for Sissy's birthday," Lisa said.

"Haha, Evanee is very skilled at making sweets. Looks like Lytha's gonna get a mighty fine cake, then."

"Yep!!" the twins said. Then Liam asked, "Mr. Bare, can we have a party for Sissy here tomorrow?"

"Hold the party here? Hmm, only if I can get some help for decorations. It's not ready for a party like this."

"We can help!" the twins replied.

"Haha, alrighty then. I'll tell Dr. Crou to go get some decorations tomorrow. In the meantime, let me know what kind of foods we should prepare for the party."

"Hmm, Sissy eats anything," Liam said.

"Huh, does she now? Well, I guess I'll go ahead and prepare a basic party menu." Apollo Bare pulled out a list of recipes he planned for catering parties and flipped through them.


	46. In Which Lytha Has a Birthday Party

_The next day, inside the cafe..._

Evanee tied up her hair, mixing the batter vigorously. She needed to distract herself from the other night's discovery.

She doubted it was true -- how could it be? The prophecies were vague enough already. But the more she thought over her latest one in connection with the others, the more she realized it had to be true. Evanee slammed the whisk down in frustration.

The twins, who were also in the cafe preparing for Lytha's party, heard the loud noise and went to check on Evanee. "Sister Evanee? Is everything okay?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, yeah.. everything is fine, I just -- I think I over-mixed it a bit."

"Need help?" Liam asked.

"Nope! Thank you, though!"

"Okay, we will be outside if you need us," Lisa said.

"Thanks, kiddos." Evanee poured the batter into the pan, giving it a quick bang on the counter to release the bubbles.

Noah leaned against the kitchen doorway. "You aren't good at hiding it."

She placed the pan in the oven, turning to the boy. "Pardon?"

"Your frustration," Noah closed the door behind him. “The twins can't see it because they are so young. Anyone else who can't see it is naive."

She sighed, taking out the powdered sugar. "What do you want, Noah?"

"Your best friend's birthday party is about to happen, and you've been moody since yesterday. What is going on?"

"Nothing," she said, plopping a stick of butter into the bowl.

"If you are gonna make it through, you need to rely on the people who care about you."

"What, like you? I don't even know where you come from. I don't owe you an explanation."

Leo walked into the kitchen, right in on their conversation. "Where is everyone? ...Oh, did I come at the wrong time?"

"Yes," Noah replied.

"No," Evanee said. "I'm just making Lytha's cake."

Mr. Bare walked back into the kitchen from the storeroom. "Hello, Leo. Sorry that nobody was out in the front. Busy preparing for the party."

"It's alright, I just got back from buying Lytha a present."

"Okay, thank you. You can help Evanee if you want." Then he went about doing his business to prepare the menu.

"Need help, Miss Evanee?" Leo put on an apron.

"Oh! That would be great, thank you! Could you find me some cocoa powder for the frosting?" She smiled, side-eyeing Noah.

Leo walked over to the cabinet and looked for the cocoa powder, and Evanee went back to beating the butter.

Noah grabbed Evanee's arm and whispered in her ear, "I don't know what is going on with you, but you need to figure it out with someone's help. I'd prefer it be me, but I can't force you. I’ll be in the book section in the meantime. Have fun baking away your problems with Leo." Noah let go of her and went back through the kitchen door.

Evanee looked after him, finding it hard to avert her eyes despite herself. Since when did he get aggravated about what wasn't his personal business?

Leo walked toward Evanee with a tin in his hand. "I found the cocoa powder. Is everything okay with Noah?"

"Noah is just being... Noah. I don't know what his problem is."

"I see... well, what's next?"

"Umm, I need you to help me mix the buttercream. My hands are a little flimsy at softening the butter," Evanee said.

"Sure," Leo said, putting his hands forward to help.

The two of them continued to prepare the cake for the birthday party...

~~~~~~~~~

Standing inside the cafe's dining area, Noah looked out the front window, watching a swallow peck at the ground.

Outside, Lytha stood near the cafe, but she was still lost in thought and suspected nothing. Noah spotted someone at the cafe door and practically jumped at the sight of Lytha, rushing out the door to greet her.

"Hahhhh, my mind can't think... I feel like I'm forgetting something, " Lytha said.

"Oh, hey, Lythaaa~" Noah called out.

"Noah..? What are you doing out here?"

"Checking to see if Evanee was in the cafe, but it seems she's still at home."

"Should we go visit her?" Lytha asked.

"But the twins..." Noah said.

"What about them?"

"They are in the cafe, right?"

"Are they, I don't see them -- didn't! Didn't see them," Noah said.

Lytha, who was still wearing her rehearsal costume, looked even more confused. "Really? I must have been very tired, then..."

Noah smiled. "Why don't we go somewhere else? I have something back at Evanee's house that I'd like to show you."

"Umm, sure, let me just change out of this princess dress. I forgot to take it off back at school," Lytha sighed. "Wearing a princess dress is not easy."

"There's a public restroom right this way!" Noah urged, leading Lytha away from the cafe.

"Waah! Calm down, Noah, you don't have to push me."

"Ah, yes, sorry about that."

Back inside the cafe, Apollo popped his head out of the kitchen, wondering to himself. "I wonder what's taking Dr. Crou so long?"

~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Crou walked down the road, looking at the various stores lining the street. Apollo had called him yesterday to get decorations for Miss Lytha's birthday party, and here he hoped he could find the right place to get them.

Across the street, Marilee was making sure the present she got for Lytha was safe in her bag. The ravenette stopped when she spotted Dr. Crou, and she smiled. "Dr. Crou, caw!" Marilee called out as she rushed over to him.

Dr. Crou noticed the little girl dressed as a crow call out to him. "Oh, Marilee, was it? How are you today? "

"I'm doing great," she replied.

"Hm, what do you have in your hand there?"

"Oh! It's a present I made for Lytha. I got her a music box!"

"Oh, that is a very good gift for her. That's really sweet of you, Marilee." Dr. Crou thought a moment. "Say, Marilee, do you happen to know where I can get decorations? The party will be at the cafe, and Apollo wants me to get supplies."

"Oh, there's a store nearby that sells them. I can take you there if you'd like," the girl said.

"That would be great, Marilee! This is a bit to ask of you all of a sudden, but can you help me choose? I figured a friend like you would know how to decorate for Lytha's birthday."

The girl smiled and nodded. "Sure! It won't be a problem!"

A little raven flew just above the building roofs, studying the cobblestone road below. "Hmmm, nothing yet..." Odin murmured to himself. He was so intently looking that he didn't initially notice Dr. Crou and Marilee passing by him below.

Then, the little black bird spotted something silver glinting on the curb at the corner of the street a short distance from where Marilee and Dr. Crou were standing. "Oh! A potential candidate."

He alighted on the ground and with a flurry of black feathers, switched to his human form, bending down and picking up the glinting object. It looked to be some sort of silver-beaded bracelet, and it was none the worse for the wear from whatever journey it made to end up there. "Bingo," Odin said, grinning.

Dr. Crou followed Marilee into a quaint-looking store. He looked around in wonder at the many colorful ribbons and paper. "Let's see, maybe we can start with some ribbons to hang around the walls. Do you think balloons would be a bit too much?"

The small girl looked around before Dr. Crou saw her go over to some decorations. She looked for a moment before picking out some streamers that were Lytha's favorite colors. Marilee also went to look for bows and flowers. Dr. Crou chose some balloons, trying to match the streamers Marilee chose. He suggested some strange looking masks in jest, which Marilee rejected out of disgust, making the doctor laugh.

Outside, the raven boy allowed himself to bask in his success for at least a moment before he turned around to figure out what to do next. He then spotted two familiar figures in the storefront window just off the side of the road he was on.

"Oh! Crow-girl and Dr. Crou," Odin noted curiously. "I wonder what they're doing over there?"

Accordingly, he walked to the front door of the shop and opened it, heading for where he saw Marilee and Dr. Crou.

Hearing the door ring open and sensing a familiar magic, Dr. Crou looked over to see Odin walk in. "Odin, over here!"

The girl was placing the decorations in the basket when she sees Odin and smiled happily. "Odin!"

Odin held up a hand in greeting. "Well met, you two," he said with a heartened smile. "What are you all doing over here?" He glanced around. "And what kind of shop is this, anyway?"

"We're getting some decorations for Lytha's birthday party," Marilee said. "This is a party store. It's where people shop to get supplies for parties!"

Dr. Crou nodded and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Apollo asked me to get decorations, but I honestly don't know what kind of stuff to get a human girl, much less Lytha," he added. "So that's why Miss Marilee is helping me."

Odin laughed briefly. "I sure wouldn't know, either!" he said with a good-natured shrug. "I don't think I've ever even _been_ to a human's birthday party before. Well, not as a guest, anyway..."

"I barely remember the birthday parties I had when I was small," she answered. Marilee was grateful for the memories with her brother. She at least had someone to celebrate with. "Ah! We need to get Lytha a birthday crown!"

"Ah, that would be fitting for Lytha. Becoming the Birthday Princess of the day," Dr. Crou said.

"A 'birthday princess'," Odin said, chuckling to himself. "Well, why not? She can be a princess if she wants to be."

The girl nodded before quickly looking for a crown. They... had a lot. However, she knew Lytha didn't like flashy. So there had to be a simple tiara.

Dr. Crou looked at the stuff in both of their carts. "Alright, now do we have everything?"

Odin glanced into the cart. "That _does_ look like a lot of stuff already."

Dr. Crou chuckled. "It sure is. We are going to decorate the whole cafe, so we will need a lot of items."

Deciding that they were done shopping, Dr. Crou took all of the items to the counter. After finishing purchasing the items, they all walked out of the store with many bags in hand and headed back to the cafe.

~~~~~~~~~

Soon after Lytha and Noah had left the cafe, Dr. Crou, Marilee, and Odin walked inside with their hands full of party decorations.

Apollo looked at Dr. Crou. "Did you see Miss Lytha on your way here?"

"Hm? No, we did not. Right, you guys?" he asked, looking at the other two next to him, shrugging. "I guess we just missed them. We better hurry and get these decorations up."

Apollo nodded. "Hello, Marilee. Are you going to help with the decorations too?"

Marilee nodded. "Yes, sir!"

Leo poked his head out of the kitchen and saw the others. "Oh, you guys are back."

Evanee poked her head out under Leo's. "The cake is just finishing up~"

"Alright, thanks Evanee!" Dr. Crou replied. "I will need to use the back room to get at least the hors d'oeuvres ready."

"Not a problem for me," she smiled slightly and took off her apron, going back into the kitchen to fetch the cake..

The twins spotted a familiar friend arrive in the cafe. "Odin!!"

Odin waved briefly in response to the twins. "Hey there, you two. How far along is everybody with preparing for the party?"

"We just need to decorate the place!" they said.

"Looks like we arrived just in time, then," Dr. Crou said as he placed down his shopping bag.

"Korvus, can you take care of the decorations while I go to the back?" Apollo Bare asked.

"No problem, sir. Alright, you guys, let's start decorating!"

"Yay!!" the twins exclaimed.

Odin glanced into the basket of decorations. "What exactly are all of these things, anyway?"

"Decorations to decorate the party!" Lisa and Liam replied.

Marilee grabbed some of the decorations and started to work on the streamers."They're to make the room a bit more festive for a celebration."

Odin looked up at them wryly. "Well, obviously! I mean, how do you decorate _with_ them? Like, where do you put this..." He took out a roll of tinsel. "...uh, shiny vine thing?"

"Oh, here, I'll show you," Marilee guided Odin to where he can hang the tinsel.

"Sister Evanee, do you think Sissy will like it?" Lisa asked Evanee as she came back out of the kitchen.

"I think she will, yes," Evanee replied to the twins, putting the finished cake on the bar table.

"Where is Sissy, anyways?" Liam asked.

"I dunno, when do you want her to come?" Evanee asked.

"I saw Noah dragging her away," Leo replied. "I think he was buying us time."

"Good on him, I suppose," Evanee said.

"Dr. Crou, how are you with the decorations?" Leo asked him.

"Well, we have some of the tables done. Marilee and Odin are working on some of the walls. Though, maybe we should have done the lighting fixtures first..." Dr. Crou said thoughtfully. "But, so far so good. How's the main event going?"

"The cake's done; Miss Evanee has placed the cake on the table already," Leo said.

"Oh, that's great! She should keep it out of immediate view, so it can be brought out as a surprise." Dr. Crou started taking out balloons to float around the place.

"We could get Noah to blindfold Lytha?" Leo asked.

After finishing putting up one of the strands of tinsel, Odin glanced over at Dr. Crou and became fascinated at the translucent oblong spheres he was taking out. "Whoa... what are those? And how do they float like that?"

"These are balloons. They are made out of elastic and filled with helium gas, so its lighter than normal air." Dr. Crou held one out to the boy.

Odin reached out for the balloon, but not anticipating its floating speed, he missed grabbing it before it headed right up for the ceiling. "Whoa! Whoops..."

"Oop, we need to tie some string to them first. Mind getting that for me, Odin?"

" 'Kay!" Odin said casually.

With a flurry of feathers, he switched to bird form for a moment, flying up and grabbing the knot with his beak before switching back to human form in midair and landing back down on the ground with the balloon in hand.

"Here ya go," the boy said, handing it back to Dr. Crou.

"Nice flying, and it didn't pop too! Now let me tie it to this string here." Dr. Crou quickly tied a shimmering thin ribbon to the knot of the balloon and then released it. "There, that should be good. And we can bring it down when we need to clean up, too."

Dr. Crou went to a large tank and started blowing up more balloons. "Hey Odin, wanna hear something funny?"

Odin blinked, tilting his head. "Huh?"

He then took a large balloon and breathed it in. " _Hi! I'm Squeaky Crou! Caw-caw caw!_ " Dr. Crou said in a shrill voice.

Noah rushed in. "She'll be here in 20 minutes," he said.

" _Okay! Thanks, Noah!_ " Dr. Crou replied back, still in his shrill voice.

Noah stared at him. "..."

"Hahahahahahahah!" the twins laughed.

Marilee was trying to not giggle. She was a mature adult. She was a mature adult. (That's a lie, she's literally shaking from the held-in giggles)

Noah smiled and burst out laughing, probably the first time he had done so since he had come to Kinkan.

" _The helium gives a shrill voice,_ _but_ eventually it goes back to normal," Dr. Crou explained to Odin, his voice gradually losing its shrillness as he spoke.

Odin's mouth dropped open, and after gaping at Dr. Crou for several moments, he began doubling over with laughter. "Dr. Crou!! What in the seven hells?! Why did your voice get so funny?! Hahahahahah!"

"I told you it was funny, right?!" One could hear the grin in Dr. Crou's (normal) voice.

Now Odin could not resist. "Let me try!" he exclaimed, marching himself over to where the balloons were being blown up.

"Sure!" Dr. Crou goes and fills up another balloon, passing it to Odin. "Now hold this end to not let the helium out. Then breathe it in and try to speak."

Evanee stepped out of the kitchen once again. She'd been so caught up with the cake, she hadn't realized that practically everyone was here. Including...

Odin eagerly yet carefully grabbed the balloon from Dr. Crou, glanced at it for a moment, and then takes a deep breath from the air inside the balloon.

" _Did it work?_ " a high squeaky voice came out of his mouth, as if he were some sort of tiny chipmunk.

Marilee was about to explode with laughter.

"See, see? Try talking again." Dr. Crou's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Oh, this is too fun, but I gotta go get Lytha," Noah rushed out the door.

Evanee watched Odin with curiosity. Could this lighthearted little bird really be...?

Odin laughed, and hearing his high voice laughing, he began laughing even harder. " _This is so funny!! Why haven't I learned about this helium sooner?! I can't stop laughing!_ "

Marilee was in the corner, and you could hear little giggles escaping from her.

"Hahahah! I remember doing this at birthday parties before. Sometimes we let go of balloons so we can race to see who can pop the most in one swoop." Dr. Crou finally noticed Evanee come out of the back kitchen. "Oh? Evanee, wanna hear something funny?"

"Hm? Uh, yeah, sure."

Dr. Crou looked at Odin. "Wanna do it at the same time?" he asked mischievously.

The raven boy gave the doctor a sly toothy grin. "Yeah, yeah, let's do it!" he exclaimed in a somewhat more normal voice, the helium from before already wearing off.

Dr. Crou got a balloon ready for each of the two of them, holding the balloons in front of them to breath the helium in. "1... 2... 3!"

Dr. Crou breathed in and turned to face Evanee. " _Hi there, Evanee! I'm Squeaky Crou!_ "

And Odin, right behind Dr. Crou, added in that ridiculous chipmunk voice, " _And I'm a big scary crow with a big scary voice! Aren't you sooooo afraid?!_ "

" _Squeaky Crou! Squeaky! Squeaky!_ "

Evanee gave out a small huff of laughter, and a genuine smile. "That's really funny."

" _Odin, you have such a scary voice! Squeak!_ "

" _Rawwwwwrr!_ " Odin squeaked back. " _I'm a terrifying scary raven! Feaaaaaaar me!! Hahahahahahah!_ "

Evanee's smile slowly faded. _Fear me..._ She can almost see it. Despite the laughs and smiles and squeaky jokes, she could hear her heart thumping as the prophecies rippled into her thoughts.

" _Oh no! I am so scared! Whatever_ shall Squeaky Crou--awww, it wore off."

" _Hahahahahahah!_ \--hahah... oh, curses, it did for me too," Odin said, put out.

Marilee had been laughing so hard that her stomach hurt now.

"Sorry to burst your bubble of fun, but I see Noah dragging Lytha over here," Leo said.

Dr. Crou looked at the clock and realized their 20 minutes were almost up.

They could hear Noah in the distance, "What do you mean 'you don’t wanna go?' I need your help!"

"Everyone! Go hide right now!" Dr. Crou exclaimed.

The twins hid behind the counter with Leo. Evanee just dipped down where she stood, and Apollo Bare hid near the light switches. Marilee quickly let out a caw before hiding with Odin behind a planter, while Dr. Crou himself crouched under a table.

"Noah... I swear, this better be good," Lytha groaned. "You are acting really weird today... "

"I just need you to set up a gift for Evanee," Noah said, "so she'll find it at work tomorrow."

Lytha swung open the door to see darkness. "Huh? Is the cafe closed?"

Then Apollo Bare turned on the lights. Everyone jumped out of their hiding spots.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SISSY!!" the twins exclaimed.

Evanee jumped up along with everyone else, letting out a small cheerful "surprise!"

"Happy birthday, Lytha," Leo said.

"Surprise! Happy birthday!" Dr. Crou exclaimed.

"Happy Birthday, Lytha." Apollo nodded.

"Hey, Lytha!! Are you surprised?!" Odin yelled excitedly. "'Cause it's your birthday!"

"...Oh wait... that was today?" Lytha asked.

Evanee sighed. "Every year..."

"Quite glad your siblings remembered," Apollo remarked.

Lytha smiled happily. "But thanks, everyone. Now I know why Noah was acting strange."

"(Psst! Evanee! Get the cake!)" Apollo whispered to her.

"(Oh right!)" Evanee dashed into the kitchen and Apollo Bare followed Evanee to help her get the cake ready. They grabbed the cake and backed out of the kitchen door.

"Sissy!" The twins tackled Lytha.

"You two sure know how to surprise me," Lytha said, patting the twins. "And Odin, I didn't think you were a party type?"

Odin put his hands on his hips defiantly. "Just 'cause I'm a raven and I don't usually get to go to human parties, doesn't mean I won't if I'm invited!"

"Haha," Lytha giggled.

"Didn't hurt that both me and Marilee were coming to the party," Dr. Crou added.

"Thanks for coming, Dr. Crou, Marilee," Lytha said to them.

"Not a problem," Dr. Crou replied.

Lytha hugged Marilee, who had her present on hand. "Mari!! Thanks for coming!"

Marilee let our a little caw from the hug. "You're welcome!"

Apollo swung open the door for Evanee to come out with the birthday cake. "And~!" Evanee smiled brightly. "We made you cake!"

"Awww, Evanee, you didn't need to!" Lytha exclaimed. "Leo, thanks for coming, too!"

"You're welcome." Leo snapped his fingers and Lytha's clothes changed into a simple princess dress.

"Wah!" Lytha exclaimed with surprise.

"Ooh, fancy," Evanee remarked.

Dr. Crou whispered to the crowd, "(Should we have given the crown already?)"

"Certainly looks like a Queen in that," Noah said.

Lytha went to hug Evanee. "Thanks for the cake, Evanee."

Apollo Bare approached Lytha with the tiara that Marilee had bought. "Ahem, excuse me, Birthday Princess."

"Yes?" Lytha turned to Mr. Bare.

"Your crown."

"Waah, a crown?!"

Apollo nodded and lifted it over her head. "Lytha, you are now crowned Birthday Princess."

Evanee clapped. Lytha was now blushing red. "This was not needed, you know..."

"Nonsense, Marilee suggested you should get one," Dr. Crou said.

Lytha sighed.

"Come now, let's eat." Leo pushed Lytha to the food table.

"Waaaaah!" Lytha had stars in her eyes after she had seen the food.

Apollo Bare motioned his paws across the table. "Please enjoy!"

Lytha was already eating and enjoying the food. "This is delicious!!"

The rest of the group joined her.

After everyone had finished eating, the cake was brought out with candles on top.

"Cake!" the twins exclaimed.

Leo placed his hands on Lytha's shoulders and smiled. Lytha smiled back.

"Come on, guys, time to blow the candles!!" Liam exclaimed.

"Okay! Um..." Marilee fumbled with the Polaroid camera.

Lytha stood in front of the cake.

"Go for it," Evanee whispered.

Lytha silently made a wish and then blew out the candles.

"Presents!! Here, Sissy." The twins gave Lytha a ribbon to tie her hair.

"Aww, thanks you two," Lytha said.

Marilee snapped a few more pictures when she realized the presents were being given. "Oh! Um... happy birthday, Lythie!" Marilee handed her the wrapped present in her hands.

"Aww, thanks Marilee." Lytha took the present.

Apollo Bare walked over to Lytha and gave a small bag with a card and a pastel canteen with some herbal tea inside. "Happy birthday, Lytha."

"Thanks, Mr. Bare," Lytha said, smiling at him.

"And my present!" Odin said with cheerful aplomb. He reached into his feathery sleeve and took out the silver bracelet he had found not too long ago. "It's shiny, and I thought you might like it," the raven boy said with a grin, handing it to Lytha proudly.

"Hehe, thanks Odin." Lytha took the bracelet and put it on. "I will treasure it." Lytha smiled brightly at Odin.

Leo walked behind Lytha and put a locket around her neck. "And this is my gift."

Lytha flushed slightly, but smiled. "Thanks, Leo."

Noah smiled. "Mine is special."

"Oh? Pray tell, Noah," Lytha said jokingly.

Noah reached into his pocket, bringing out a relatively thin chain with a small pocketwatch attached to it. He reached for Lytha's hand. Lytha looked at him with confusion.

Noah lowered it into her palm. "You can wear it as a bracelet or necklace or pocketwatch, whatever you wish. But it's ever so special of a watch."

Noah clicked open the lid to reveal a gloriously decorated face, the three hands intricately ticking. "This watch never stops. No matter where in time and space, it will continue. If you pause time with your magic, or lose time because of other people, you will know how many minutes, hours and seconds have passed since your time froze."

"Are you sure I should have it?" Lytha asked.

Noah laughed. "I can always make more, Lytha."

"Thanks a lot, Noah."

"Of course! It also senses when time has stopped, and the face will turn blue as long as it has been stopped."

"Oh? That's a neat trick. I might come to you if I want to upgrade my watch someday," Dr. Crou mused.

Lytha turned to everyone. "Thanks, everyone, for the birthday party," she said. "Let's take a group photo!"

Everyone stood together, and several moments later, the camera timer went off.

The rest of the party was uneventful, but fun for all involved.


	47. In Which Sagi Talks with Lytha About Her Troubles

Lytha was walking around the school after class had ended. Sagi, too, was out walking around campus after school. She saw Lytha cross her path, and approached her. "Oh, Lytha -- I haven't seen you in a while... especially not since that, erm, foreign prince incident. You were injured from that, right? Are you doing better?"

"Hey, Sagi! Yeah, I feel better, don't worry. I swear you guys worry too much."

Sagi's brow furrowed. "I hear it wasn't a minor injury, so I think I'd have reason to worry, at least a little..."

"I'm fine, really! Just that it hurts time to time if I strain my back, hehehe..." Lytha said, scratching her face.

Sagi sighed. "Injuries can get even worse if you don't let them heal properly. I'm sure it would make your busy work schedule even more difficult if you had permanent back pain because of that..."

"That would be bad..." Lytha said. "Well, I'm just lucky, then."

Sagi smiled faintly. "I suppose you really are. It seems like you come out of multiple dangerous situations and are able to recover fairly quickly from them. Some people are just like that."

"Well, enough about me, let's talk something else. How has school been for you, Sagi?"

"School has been the same as usual," Sagi said. "I may have had a little difficulty focusing on classes as of late, but I'm managing somehow."

"Well, if you need any help, there's always me," Lytha said.

Sagi nodded. "Thank you, I appreciate the offer." She glanced out the school gates, as if at something in the distance. "It's a little difficult to be aware of matters that are beyond your power to really do something about -- when there are questions, but no way to find answers."

"Sagi?"

"Hmm?" Sagi blinked, looking at Lytha. "Sorry, I was just thinking..."

"Are you okay? You seem out of it," Lytha said.

The blue-haired girl paused for a moment. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately... people I'm concerned about, but nothing I can really do for them."

"I'm sure you will figure out something," Lytha replied. "There is always a way, after all."

Sagi looked concerned. "You can only help people when they want your help -- or if they know the help they need in the first place. I don't feel like I'm very good at convincing people of that..."

"...Cheer up, nothing good will come if you keep thinking like that." Lytha patted Sagi's back and smiled at her.

Sagi looked at the redhead. "What is it you do, Lytha, when you're not sure how to help someone, but you truly wish to somehow?"

"...I don't know how to answer that," Lytha replied.

Sagi looked pensive. "When I care about someone, but I can't do anything for them... it hurts. I don't want to feel helpless, and I want to keep trying, but..."

"As long as you tried, I'm sure they will understand."

Sagi put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "I wonder... if I can somehow let them know I'm there, even if I can't personally help them... would that be enough?"

"I'm sure it's enough..."

"Hmmm..." Sagi said, pausing as she pondered this. "I've already told them those things, in one way or another... maybe I'm fretting for no reason."

"...I'm sorry, I'm not good at these types of things..."

Sagi shook her head. "No, I apologize. I don't mean to burden you with my worries. I appreciate you listening, though," she said with a small smile.

Lytha smiled back at Sagi. "I'm glad I could help, even a little bit," she said. "So Sagi, are you doing any performances?"

"Well, I'm in the beginner's class, so..." Sagi thought for a moment. "Do the beginners ever have exhibitions? I wasn't aware that they did, but I haven't been attending for all that long."

"Hmmm, they should have... I think, I can't remember," Lytha said, frowning. "I have been so busy lately with orders, schoolwork and a performance coming up, my brain feels like it's going to burst."

Sagi looked at Lytha with concern. "I hope you haven't been spread too thin lately? Perhaps you might do something to relax. I find that helps me when I'm feeling overwhelmed."

"Well... I feel more relaxed these past few days thanks to the twins," Lytha replied. "They even helped throw a birthday party for me a few days ago. Can you believe those angels?" Lytha was smiling brightly with flowers surrounding her.

Sagi's eyes widened. "Oh, it was your birthday recently? I had no idea, I'm sorry. Happy belated birthday, Lytha," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, though truth be told, even I forgot it was my birthday until a few days ago, hehehe."

"I guess that's how busy you've been," Sagi said with a small sigh. "Well, I'm happy that your little brother and sister remembered and gave you that party. It sounds like it was a wonderful event," she added, smiling.

Lytha fiddled with the locket and smiled with a tiny blush. "It was."

"What was the party like?" Sagi asked. "Did you get any birthday gifts?"

"Mari gave me a music box, Odin gave me this shiny bracelet, Noah gave me a pocketwatch, and Leo gave me this locket."

Sagi smiled. "What wonderful gifts. I'm sure you must be..." She trailed off upon realizing something. "Ah -- Odin came to your party, too?"

"Yep! I was actually surprised, but he had fun."

"He had fun?" Sagi asked, her smile brightening. "I'm really glad he did. I know he's had things troubling him, so to hear that he was happy at the party is a great relief to me."

"The twins said he even played with helium," Lytha added. "The twins were laughing to the point they were tearing up."

Sagi's eyes widened in disbelief. "He was... playing with helium?" she asked, not sure if she understood correctly. "Do you mean... was he....?"

"He's fine, don't worry. Helium is harmless, all it does is just change your voice," Lytha said.

Sagi blinked, stunned at the mental image of Odin breathing helium gas to play around with his voice. After the moment of shock, she doubled over with laughter. "R-really?!" she said between laughs. "I... I almost can't believe that...!"

"Here," Lytha showed Sagi a picture from the party. "See, Odin is smiling right here."

Sagi then saw the photo and Odin's smiling face in it. It was unclear whether the happy tears she was wiping from her eyes was from laughing or from seeing the cheery photo. "I'm... I'm glad. I'm so glad to know that. Thank you for telling me, Lytha."

"You're welcome," Lytha said. She looked at the pocketwatch. "Oh, I'm late for practice, I better get going," Lytha stood up. "I will see you around, Sagi!"

Sagi nodded, an air of relief in her smile that hadn't been there before their conversation. "See you again, Lytha. And thank you, again."

Lytha waved goodbye at Sagi.

Sagi waved back, and then set off for her dorm room, glad that she had gotten to talk with Lytha that day.


	48. In Which Dr. Crou Asks Noah for Assistance

Noah entered the cafe. That morning, Evanee had called in sick, so he thought he might volunteer in her place if Bare didn't have enough employees.

Leo was behind the counter. "Welcome."

"You... work here now?"

"Umm, well, Evanee called me to cover for her today."

"She asked--oh, of course she did." Noah sighed. "Could you get me a nutmeg coffee, please?"

"Sure. Take a seat; I will bring your order shortly."

"Thanks." Noah looked out the window, watching people and thinking about the architecture of the building across the street.

Dr. Crou appeared from the back office room talking to Apollo. "I appreciate it, Apollo. This means a lot to me and I really want to help Odin out."

He walked out to the cafe floor. "Oh, hey, Noah! How have you been?"

Noah smiled at the sight of Dr. Crou. "Things have been a bit hectic here and there, but ultimately it’s been fine." He pulled out a chair. "Come join me if you have the opportunity."

"Hectic, has it? Thought it would have died down after Prince Alex's trial," Dr. Crou said as he went ahead and sat down across from the boy.

Noah sighed. "I had hoped so, but Evanee has been acting a little jumpy and suspicious since a little after it happened. And since she's the only one I tend to hang around, it's been difficult for me to find things to do here. How about you? What’s been going on with the amazing Doctor Korvus Crou these days?"

Leo walked up to the table and placed Noah's order on the table. "Thanks for waiting. Here is your nutmeg coffee."

Noah gave him a small smile and took the cup in his hands.

Dr. Crou gave Leo a nod as a greeting, who headed back to the counter, before answering Noah. "I was hoping that you would be able to get through to that girl. She is a bit hard to reach."

"That's Evanee for you... "

Dr. Crou looked down in thought. "As for me, looks like I will go for another adventure to Odin's world. If--! We can figure out how to let me go through the portal," he laughed in defeat.

"Portal, you say?" Noah's eyes sparkled a little at the mention of one of his many interests.

"Yes, a portal. I'm attempting to visit his world to help him out... on a quest. But apparently, only Odin can go through it, which leaves me in a predicament." Dr. Crou looked at the time traveler. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about portals, would you?"

Noah smiled. "I might be able to help with that. Depends on the portal, though. If it's like the one I found when I came here, then I can easily get you out of such a predicament."

"Really? Then I'm glad to have met you here. I wonder if there's such thing as fate?" Dr. Crou mused in humor.

"It's something I have to believe in for the family business. Fate is a powerful force." Noah smiled. "When and where do you want me to meet you all?"

"If you don't mind, can you follow me to the cathedral right now? Odin is waiting for me over there."

"Ah, sounds good to me. I believe I have everything I might need in my satchel. Let's go." Noah left the money on the table for Leo to pick up when he returned.


	49. In Which Noah Lets Dr. Crou Through Odin's Portal

By the cathedral, there lay an unusual sight of a gear floating a few feet off the ground. It turned in place, as if it was part of a larger, invisible, clockwork that it was connected to. Mechanical sounds clicked and churned, while a bright light shone through the opening of the gear.

In front of this portal, the raven boy stood outside the cathedral, impatiently rocking back and forth on his heels, staring at it. It appeared for him easily enough, so why wouldn't it let Dr. Crou through? Dr. Crou had said he'd figure something out and come back to let him know, but he wasn't sure how long that would be...

Just then, Dr. Crou came up to the cathedral along with Noah.

"Hello again, Odin," Noah said.

"Hey Odin, sorry to keep you waiting," Dr. Crou said.

Odin turned around, smiling at the sight of Dr. Crou and added puzzlement at Noah's presence. "You're back, finally!" he exclaimed. "Have you figured something out?"

Dr. Crou nodded. "Yes, looks like Noah is able to help us out with the portal here."

"Oh, now you are beautiful," Noah basked in the glory of the portal hovering within the clockwork gear.

Odin stared at Noah with a wry expression. "...Riiiiight," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I very much so can help; this is just like the ones back home."

"Is that so? Then you can make quick work of it?" Dr. Crou asked.

"Hmm..." Noah walked around the gear, examining the edges. "I can. This is a very personalized portal though; it will fight against my magic."

Odin crossed his arms defiantly. "Is there any way for _me_ to convince it otherwise?"

Dr. Crou knelt down next to Odin to be able to talk at his level. "He can probably do something, Odin. He's actually from a family of time travelers."

Odin looked at Dr. Crou with surprise. "Really? Huh. I wouldn't have guessed."

"It's possible for you to do something, Odin, but that would require a bit of training in regards to multiple portals. My family practically invented them. Though... this one looks like it was crafted by someone else." Noah turned back to the other two with a smile. "I'd be happy to make this work for you; I'll visit home in the meantime as well."

"You will be going back home, then?" Dr. Crou asked.

Noah put his hands in his pockets. "My parents are probably a little worried, and I need my books from home so I can help anyone who needs to know more about magic and time travel." Noah smiled at the world around him. "I think Kinkan is my new home, though."

Odin grasped his hands with resolve. "Well, if you can make it so that Dr. Crou can go through this thing with me, then do whatever you need to do!" he said with a determined grin.

Noah nodded at the little raven, taking off his coat. "Will do, friend."

Odin's face brightened. "You have my thanks, human!"

Noah raised his hand to the portal entrance, pressing his palms against the glass-like surface. As he closed his eyes, the surface changed to a more malleable substance, allowing Noah to reach his hand through.

He removed his left hand from the portal and took out a pocketwatch from his back pocket, opening it up and turning the knob until both hands pointed to the 12. Then, pressing it against the entrance, he twisted the knob again to 3 o'clock. A quick clank noise sounded from the portal, and Noah quickly removed his hands, leaving the watch suspended within the portal.

Noah backed up, pressing his arms to his chest and whispering a small chant. Afterward, he reached forward and pressed the watch face closed, sending a golden ripple around the entrance, causing a curtain of color to surround the whole gear.

He walked around to the side of the gear, pressing against the edge and spinning the whole thing like a wheel. The gear slowly expands with each turn, until two translucent clock hands sprout from his pocketwatch, spinning rapidly until they land on 3 o'clock.

Noah quickly flourished his hands, and the watch shot out from the portal and into his hand. The new resulting portal glimmered with a bright white light. "Dr. Crou, could you give me a feather of yours?"

Speechless, Dr. Crou quickly plucked a feather from his mantle and handed it to Noah.

"There we go," Noah brushed off his hands.

Dr. Crou was just stunned. "Wow, that was incredible, Noah!"

Odin had been gaping with delight at the entire spectacle. "That... was totally, absolutely, insanely awesome!!"

"Why thank you, Doctor, Odin, I'm glad you enjoyed the show. It should allow both of you to go through, though only this instance. Coming back will be a similar process, which is why..."

Noah paused and reached into his satchel, pulling out a simple, thin silver pocketwatch. "Take this, Crou. Let it keep time, and when you are ready to come back to Kinkan, stop the watch. It'll let me know the time and place you are. I'll take whatever time you need to be home and you will show up mere minutes after your summoning."

"I can't believe you were able to do all of that. Such a high level of skill was rarely seen among the powerful ranks back in my nest."

Noah shrugged. "I try my best. My mother is much better at it. She has a bronze color to her magic, and it always gives quite the imprint."

Dr. Crou took the pocketwatch and nodded. "Will you need another one of my feathers?"

"When the time comes, I might, but since it's the same portal, I'll just need to let it know you are the one that wants to come through. It'll recognize you, or that works."

"Alright. Thank you, Noah." Dr. Crou switched out his gold pocketwatch for the silver watch. "If you can, would you mind keeping this safe for me?"

Noah nodded and smiled. "Will do. You two be safe out there. And contact me if you need anything at all."

Odin waved at Noah with a smile. "Thanks again, human! This means a lot to me -- to us!"

With that Noah gave a quick 'you are very welcome' and watched as the two began to enter the portal.

"Hey, Noah." Dr. Crou said before entering.

"Hm?"

Dr. Crou grasped his hand and pulled him into a brief hug, letting go and placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. "You did great. We need to chat again over some coffee after this."

Noah's eyes began to water a little. He gave a warm smile to Crou. "Sounds good to me."

Dr. Crou gave him a pat, and entered the portal to Odin's world.


	50. In Which Odin and Dr. Crou Visit the Wise Fairy

Odin and Dr. Crou stepped out of the portal into a sparse area of the forest where the trees were spaced out more than it would in the deep woods. Immediately, to Odin's startlement, they were accosted by his two best friends, who had apparently been standing there in front of this end of the portal, waiting for him to return.

"Where in the seven hells have you been?!" a girl around Odin's age with a striking resemblance to a young Rue marched up right in front of him and put her hands on her hips petulantly. "Do you know how worried sick we've been that you've been disappearing every day to the devil knows where?!"

"(Odin, why did you set up an ambush?)" Dr. Crou asked him.

"(I... I didn't know they'd be here...!)" Odin said with shock.

"You never told them where you were going?" the doctor inquired, as he was sitting on the ground because of a young crow tackling him.

A boy around Odin's age, but somewhat bigger than Odin himself, got up after tackling Dr. Crou and crossed his arms. "Who are you, old crow, and what are you doing with our friend?!"

Odin held up his hands frantically. "Hey, it's okay! He's a friend. A good friend of mine. He's come to help me." Odin stopped for a moment and gestured at the girl and boy. "Dr. Crou, this is Frigg," he said, indicating the girl, "and Loki," he said with a hand at the other boy. "They're my best friends, and I'd trust them with anything."

Dr. Crou got up on his feet and started brushing off the dirt from his clothes. He also checked that the pack he was carrying was in good condition. "The name's Dr. Crou, Odin's friend. And I am helping him on a quest."

Frigg and Loki looked at each other. "A quest?" the girl asked, confused, looking at Odin for a further explanation.

Odin paused, hesitating. "It's... it's about that crimson ghost that's been haunting the woods around the roost. The reason it's--"

"--We were going to find out how it came about and how to remove them. Ghosts are powerful spirits, so we will need help on how to do that." Dr. Crou covered for Odin.

Loki crossed his arms again. "It's about that heart, isn't it," he said bluntly. "The heart you removed. Frigg told me about it."

Dr. Crou looked at Odin. "Oh good, at least you didn't hide that from your friends."

Odin looked guilty. "Not for lack of trying..."

Frigg scowled at Odin with a mixture of displeasure and worry. "It's been bothering you ever since that day you left the human battlefield much later than everyone else," Frigg said. "At first I wondered what you had done with it, but when that crimson ghost started appearing around where I saw you with it last.... I knew."

Odin looked at Frigg. "It wasn't... it wasn't something I wanted to burden others with, especially not you two," he said. "But.... I talked things over with Dr. Crou when this portal appeared, and he's going to help me fix this somehow." He paused. "....Once we figure out what we should do," he added with a frown.

"Frigg, was it? Do not be so hard on him," Dr. Crou said gently, kneeling to speak more at the the kids' level. "A human heart is not so easy to get rid of, much less destroy with regular magic. We need to find someone who knows about the magic of the heart to get rid of it properly."

Frigg glanced off to the side, her eyes full of anguish. "If only he would tell me when things were bothering him..." she whispered to no one in particular.

Loki put a fist to his chin thoughtfully. "Magic of the heart... well, I don't know if she'd know about that in particular, but the one who knows about all sorts of things including magic is the Wise Fairy. If anyone would know how to find that out, she would."

"A Wise Fairy?" Dr. Crou inquired, considering that fairytales were not his forte.

Odin's brow creased as he glanced sidelong. "The Wise Fairy... I know her. Because I once played a mean trick on her, and really made her mad."

"Of course you did, Odin," Dr. Crou told himself bringing a hand to his forehead. "That is our only lead right now. Will one of you guys lead the way?"

Odin glanced at his friends. "But... would she even want to help me after that?" he asked with a worried frown.

"Well, we might need to apologize to her first and then she will be willing to listen," Dr. Crou said. Then he paused for a moment as if to think on it. "What exactly did you do?"

Guiltily, Odin recounted for Dr. Crou the story of how he had made a thorough mess of the Wise Fairy's forest abode when he put a number of curiosities and oddities together in it that shouldn't ever have been put together. "I thought it was funny at the time, but she sure didn't," Odin concluded, his eyes still glancing away.

Dr. Crou had a hard time stifling his chuckles, until he burst out laughing. "Hahahahaha! Odin, you rascal, you! I would have wished to see that!"

After he calmed down from his laughing fit, he added, "I'm guessing she would have been annoyed, but not enough to punish a young crow. We'll see when we arrive at her place." He ruffled Odin's head in reassurance.

Loki folded his arms confidently. "We'll come with you, Odin. We'll ask with you. Surely she can't turn away all of us!"

Frigg nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder. "She'll hear you out, if I can help it."

"There is definitely strength in numbers. See, Odin? You have good friends." Dr. Crou looked at the boy.

Odin glanced around at the cadre of crows standing by him. Then, he smiled. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go and ask her, together."

After a while on their journey, Dr. Crou felt the strain of the magically dense world on him. It was overloading his magic detection sensibilities and his hat was not offering enough protection. He paused for a moment, telling his party he needed a moment. He whispered a spell and spread his wings. They wrap around him, taking a form of a feathered cloak. After he finished, they continued on their journey.

After traveling deeper into the forest, they finally reached the Wise Fairy's abode at the heart of the woods, which was a grove that, while seemingly well protected by lush foliage and trees, seemed to be full of light.

At its entrance, the Wise Fairy stood patiently, as if she had been waiting for them. She resembled an Edel with a pair of gossamer wings on her back. "Well come, ravens young and old," she said with a gracious nod as she gestured for them to enter. "For what purpose have you come here today?"

"We came to ask for you help, Wise Fairy." Dr. Crou lifted his hat and bowed in respect.

As they entered the house and settled in, Dr. Crou and the company told the Wise Fairy about the heart Odin took, hid in the forest, and how the red ghosts came with it.

The Wise Fairy nodded calmly, and patiently listened to their story in entirety. When they finished, the fairy folded her hands and gazed about the company soberly. "I understand the situation. Now I must ask, young raven Odin," the fairy said, glancing toward him. "If you want to help this young soldier, and prevent his suffering without incurring it on others, do you intend to take on his suffering as your own?"

Odin blinked, as if the question struck him for some reason. After a pause, he shook his head. "But then, I would suffer instead, wouldn't I?" Odin said seriously. "And that would make all of my friends here sad -- and I don't want that, either."

The Wise Fairy nodded again, this time with a small smile. "Indeed they would. So, if you would help that young human, the suffering within the heart itself must be healed."

Loki blinked bewilderedly. "But... how would we do that? How can ravens like us heal wounds of the heart?"

The fairy closed her eyes pensively. "Magic pertaining to the heart is something I do not personally know much about. However -- I know someone else who would."

"Who would that be, then?" Frigg asked, tilting her head slightly.

The Wise Fairy glanced outside, farther out into the woods. "The great witch, Baba-Yaga. She knows of magic far outside my realm of knowledge, including the arcane magic that lies within hearts. If you would seek her guidance, tell her I sent you, and she will likely oblige your request in one way or another."

She looked back at them. "Even then, though, I caution you -- she is not a being to be trifled with. Take care in your interactions with her; she is not known to be accommodating or patient, and will not tolerate tomfoolery of any sort," she added, glancing Odin's way.

Odin's brow creased. "I know, I know," he said a little sheepishly, before he looked back at the fairy with resolve in his eyes. "If I'm going to ask her how to help that human, I've got to be willing to listen to what she says."

Dr. Crou was relieved that Odin seemed to have humbled himself and gained resolve for the next phase of the quest. The doctor looked at the Wise Fairy and asked, "I thank you for your help. Is there any way for us to repay you?"

The Wise Fairy gave another small smile. "Well, I have been meaning to return this broom of hers I borrowed," she said, holding out her hand, and a seemingly unassuming broom sitting in a corner floated toward her. "I would otherwise have to go there myself, but since you're on your way there, why don't you take it with you and return it in my stead?"

"Very well, we will deliver it for you," Dr. Crou nodded, taking a mental note he felt like a mailman now, but kept that to himself.

"Ah, one more thing." She glanced at Dr. Crou. "I notice you've been shielding yourself from ambient magic quite heavily. Has the magic in this world been bothersome for you?"

"Erm, yes. I see that you have taken notice," the doctor replied rather sheepishly. "I am naturally sensitive to magic around me, so coming here has been quite overwhelming."

"If that is so, then let me grant you this talisman that would be a little less cumbersome on your travels," the Wise Fairy said as she conjured up in her hand what looked like a small pin on which a long iridescent feather was set -- one that could easily be put into a hat. "Consider it a token of my appreciation for helping this young one with his quest," she said as she offered it to Dr. Crou.

"Oh! That would be very helpful. Thank you very much," Dr. Crou took the pin graciously. He carefully took off his hat and set it into the band. The pin gave a small shine, and as Dr. Crou put the hat back on, he immediately felt a strong magic around him. He withdrew his cloak and was free to move around in his usual form.

Feeling more at ease, Dr. Crou looked at the Wise Fairy with curiosity. "Do you happen to know the importance of this journey? Of the future that is to come lest we fail?"

The Wise Fairy gazed at him significantly. "Indeed I am aware. I presume that means you know of it as well."

Odin glanced between the two adults. "Uh... what are you talking about, exactly?"

The Wise Fairy looked at Odin with a gentle smile. "Merely the depth of troubles and strife that would ensue if your journey were to fail, or never to happen at all."

Loki looked at the two adults curiously as well, as did Frigg. But having no idea what it could be about, and seeing the adults were not going to elaborate, they remained quiet.

Dr. Crou nodded at the Wise Fairy's words. "It is best if we move on to see Baba-Yaga now. We do not have time to waste."

Odin looked up at Dr. Crou with determination. "Right! Then, let's go!"

The Wise Fairy told them how to reach the location of Baba-Yaga's hut, and after handing them the broom they were to deliver, she stood up to see them off outside.

As the ravens exited her abode, she held up a hand in quiet farewell. Her parting words to them were: "If ever you should falter, remember this -- the heart is not a precious gem to be guarded and cloistered away, but a living thing to be nurtured and cherished. A broken heart may yet grow roots anew."

Dr. Crou took the Wise Fairy's words to heart, for he was in an unknown land with magic unbeknownst to him. He needed to take all the advice that he could get. Hopefully, it would be enough to change the fate this story was heading toward.


	51. In Which Evanee Reveals Her Prophecy About Odin

A knock rapped on Lytha's door.

Lytha shouted, "Come in!"

Evanee rushed in, shutting the door behind her. "Hey."

Lytha looked up from her workbench. "Evanee? What's wrong?"

"It's... nothing."

"Evanee, I know you have been acting weird since my birthday party... what's wrong?"

"I don't want to worry you about it. Right now, I just wanna see my best friend and relax on my day off."

"In that case..." Lytha removed her goggles and placed them on the workbench. "Shall we hang out? We haven't been going out since you have been busy with work," Lytha said as she tied her hair into a high ponytail.

Evanee sighed. "I know... where do you wanna go?"

"Hmm, let's go shopping!" Lytha said. "We can have some us time, maybe go eat at a nice restaurant for once?"

"Sure, sounds good to me!" Evanee clutched her bag, waiting for Lytha to exit.

Lytha grabbed her purse and headed out. "Come on, let's go!"

As they headed down the street, Evanee walked beside Lytha, smiling at the jewelry her friend was wearing from her party.

"Evanee? Is there something on my face?" Lytha asked.

"No no, it's just... I never got you a present. I was so wrapped up in--" Evanee stopped herself. "I just ran out of time, I suppose."

"It's okay; I mean, you baked me the cake, after all."

"Yeah, but -- a cake is a cake. Both Noah and Leo got you amazing things, and Marilee and Odin, too."

"Hmmm, in that case..."

Lytha then dragged Evanee into a jewelry store, much to the latter's surprise.

"Hehe," Lytha giggled, picking out two pairs of matching earrings, each in different colors. "How about this? This can be your birthday gift to me."

Evanee gasped. "Oh Lytha, they're lovely! Yes, of course!" Evanee took them in her hands, happily bringing them to the counter.

Lytha giggled slightly as Evanee skipped back with the newly bought earrings, handing Lytha's pair to her. "Hmmm, how about some Italian, I'd like some pasta!" Evanee said.

Lytha put on her earrings. "Sure! Do you need help putting on your earrings, Evanee?"

"No, I got it," she smiled, taking them in her hands and pressing each one into her ear.

"Let's go!!" Lytha took Evanee's hand and started walking them to the restaurant.

As the two walked, Lytha said, "You know, I haven't seen Noah or Odin lately? I mean, unless Odin was out flying somewhere, but Noah -- that's strange."

"I... uh, Noah and I got into an argument..." Evanee stopped. "And I haven't... seen... Odin."

"You and Noah got into an argument? About what?" Lytha got worked up. "He didn't hurt you, did he?! Cuz if he did, he is sooo dead!!"

"No, he didn't. I just. He was trying to tell me what to do," Evanee replied.

"...Hey, Evanee, did Odin do anything?" Lytha asked Evanee tentatively.

"Did he do anything to you?!" Evanee asked her with alarm.

"What? No, no -- I mean, why would he? He is my friend," Lytha said with confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"Right, he's your friend. He wouldn't hurt anyone, of course. I'm just jumpy..."

"You make it sound like he is going to become bad and kill me," Lytha remarked.

Evanee stopped, looking down at the ground.

"Evanee??" Lytha asked. "Evanee, I know something is wrong."

Evanee looked around, sighed, and pulled Lytha to a bench, sitting her down next to her. "I have to tell you something."

Lytha put her hand on top of Evanee's hands. "Go on, I will listen."

Evanee bit her lip. "I think--No, I'm pretty sure... Odin is..."

"Is?"

"Odin is the Raven."

"What...? No, you must be joking, right?"

Evanee's face grimaced into a near-crying expression.

"......" Lytha pulled Evanee into a hug. "No matter what happens, I'm here for you," Lytha said. "Is this what you and Noah were arguing about?"

Evanee let out a small sob. "He doesn't know, but he got mad that I wouldn't tell him. Why would I? How could I? Odin's been a friend -- how do I tell someone that he's--he's..."

"Noah is just worried about you, he wants to help you."

"That's not the point!"

"Why don't you tell me everything?" Lytha said.

Evanee wiped off her tears, taking a deep breath. "When you were gone, I studied the prophecies vigorously. I memorized them, made sense of them, and tried to see if any were connected. There was a prophecy about Odin in particular, something about a heart... and then there was another that spoke of the devourer of hearts originally trying to protect one. I didn't think anything of the ones involving the Raven, I thought those had already passed, even the one about the bird's past coming after his present.

"But what really clicked was when I wrote of a victim of the same nest, telling his not yet bloomed adversary of his war, of the war that had happened before to many, and was to come for one in particular. Lytha, Odin is the Raven. It's who he is going to become, regardless of what happens."

"...I see..." Lytha said. "I don't know what to say... Odin, to me, is just an innocent little boy."

"That's what I thought too, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Lytha, please, I know its unfair for me to ask you this, but keep your distance, at least until we figure this out. The Raven was the Raven, and nothing suggests he had friends during or even before the battle. If that is to be true, then... anyone connected to him must be taken out of the equation in the long run," Evanee said. "It makes sense, too, some of my urges are strongest when I'm around him. If we are to believe the tales of my ancestors, my blood must be connected to his."

Lytha looked at the bracelet Odin had given her and gave a sad smile. "I... I will try."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Evanee said.

"I'm starting to wonder if the gods hate me?" Lytha said.

"I wish it wasn't true, I wish I was crazy, and it drives me insane that I know I'm not." Evanee shook her head. "Lytha... I know it's been hard, I can't imagine how hard, just... just know I'm here for you all the way."

"...Fate is cruel... is it not...?"

"I'm sorry." It's all she can say. It's all she can do. "I... I'll leave you be..." Evanee stepped back.

"...Maybe I should have died out there... at least then I wouldn't have to feel like this..."

Evanee's eyes watered. "Don't, please don't say that. I shouldn't have told you, it's my fault."

Lytha took out a handkerchief and wiped Evanee's tears. "It's alright... it's okay... no matter what happens, I will be by your side," Lytha said, smiling.

Evanee can't help but bawl now, hugging Lytha close to her, saying nothing but apologies over and over again. Lytha rubbed Evanee's back, saying nothing as Evanee continued to cry.


	52. In Which Marilee Discovers Evanee's Prophecy

The twins were walking around, feeling unsure after the conversation they had overheard from their sister and Evanee. Marilee was quietly walking around nearby and had bought some groceries for herself. The twins noticed Marilee and walked up to her with sad eyes.

Marilee stopped as she noticed the twins. "What's wrong?"

"Sister Mari... is Brother Odin bad?"

Marilee nearly let our a caw from surprise. "Bad? No, he's the best friend anyone could have. Where did this come from?"

"...Sister Evanee told sissy to stay away from Brother Odin because he is the Raven...."

The girl felt her heart stop at the mention of The Raven. She recalled the war and up to where her brother had to break his heart in order to seal him away...

Marilee shook her head. "I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding. Odin is Odin. Not the Raven."

"But Sister Evanee said that in the... prophi.... profiecies, Brother Odin is the raven."

Marilee stood there for a moment. Evanee's power was to somehow tell the future of events that were to happen. Marilee frowned a bit. "I know what you two are saying... but Odin isn't him, nor will he ever be. He's our best friend... and I know without a doubt in my heart... he'll never become that. Prophecy or not."

"Then why did Sister Evanee tell Sissy to stay away from Brother Odin?"

"I'm guessing she's stressed out and is just trying to figure things out, caw."

"...But Sissy has been down since then... can you talk to Sissy?"

The ravenette smiled and nodded. "You can count on me!"

"Follow us -- we can bring you to our home, where Sissy is!"

The twins grabbed Marilee, and Marilee just let out a surprised caw as she was taken to Lytha's house. The twins opened the door to their house and invited Marilee in.

"Welcome back, you two... Mari? What are you doing here?" Lytha asked as she came to the front door.

"Hi, Lytha! I, um... the twins wanted me to talk with you," Marilee said.

"About what?"

"Sissy, we go out and play," the twins said, running out again and leaving Marilee and Lytha alone.

"Lytha... they told me about the prophecy and Odin..." Marilee began.

"......" Lytha said nothing for a moment as she looked down. "Take a seat, this is going to be a while."

Marilee nodded before she took a seat.

Lytha placed a cup of tea in front of Marilee and sat down. "I'm sure you have questions..."

"Did... Did Evanee explain how it would happen?"

"Evanee said something about a war..."

"A war...?"

"A war that will lead Odin to become The Raven."

Marilee tried to think. She remembered her brother telling her about the wars before the Raven arrived at their kingdom. "Then... we've got to help Odin."

"The thing is, I feel that Evanee... wants to avoid him," Lytha said. "I told Evanee I would keep my distance, but I also want to help... I can't decide." Lytha cried a little, "What can I do...?"

Marilee gently grasped Lytha's hand to comfort her. "Evanee knows her prophecies come true in one way or another. That's why she's struggling. However... I know fate can change. Odin would never turn into the Raven is we can help it."

"...But what if he does change into the Raven?! I did everything in my power to keep my family safe -- I can't let it happen again!"

"I know it's scary to think that... but Odin is the most cheerful and kind best friend you could ask for... the Raven is the very opposite..." she said. "Please. Trust me on this, Odin is never going to become the Raven... I'll make sure it never happens."

"...I don't know... my mind is so confused," Lytha said. "Mari... am I making a horrible decision?"

Marilee was a little quiet. "If I had friends who suddenly were keeping away from me... I think it would hurt more than anything..."

"Mari... promise me if anything happens to me, protect the twins and my dad in my place. I fear that my decision will cost my family's lives..."

"I promise... but nothing bad is going to happen, caw."

"Thank you..." Lytha said. "Mari, if you wish to know about the prophecies, you have to ask Evanee -- she knows them better. Also, thanks for trying to cheer me up," Lytha said, smiling at her.

Lytha saw Marilee off at the door, waving goodbye at her.

"I wonder what Odin is doing now..." Lytha said to herself.


	53. In Which Odin and His Friends Visit Baba-Yaga

After leaving the abode of the Wise Fairy, the four ravens headed toward the part of the deep forest where Baba-Yaga's hut stood. Here, the woods seemed more shadowy and foreboding, much unlike the light-filled grove of the fairy.

They finally came upon a rugged yet austere hut that seemed to be up on stilts -- except if one looked more closely, those stilts were actually a pair of giant chicken legs. A stone slab staircase, while thin and intricate, led up to the front doors, and seemed to solidly support its own weight despite its lack of volume.

Odin, clutching the broom the fairy had entrusted to them, walked up toward the stone steps, about to traverse them to go up to the door when he heard a harsh old crone's voice speak as if from nowhere.

"Don't bother, I'm already out here." A wrinkled old lady with an outlandishly large head and hands suddenly stood before them at the foot of the steps.

She glanced at Odin, tsked, and said with minor annoyance, "Oh, Edelweiss, you had to send these birds over here to return what you borrowed?" She sighed, and held out her hand for the broom. "Well, then, hand it over and get this done with."

Odin blinked, stopping for a moment. "Uh, wait -- we're not just here to return the broom. We're here to ask you something. Something important!"

The old crone raised an eyebrow at him. "Important, you say? Well, then, hurry up and spit it out."

Odin and the rest of his friends explained why they were there and the predicament with the human's heart. "And so, we want to know how we could make the heart not make others suffer anymore," Odin finished. "Not for the human who owns it, nor anyone else. The Wise Fairy said you'd know about magic of the heart, so that's why we're here."

The old witch crossed her arms, frowning. "Oh, have no doubt I know about that sort of magic. As for what you'd do with it? That's going to be the issue here."

Frigg's brow furrowed. "Issue? What issue?"

"Basically, what you want to do is to cleanse the human's heart of its curses, the curses it's accumulated during his life that led him to where you found him," she said matter-of-factly. "In other words, you want to heal the wounds of his heart. But the heart cannot be simply physically fixed like your body can. It's much more complicated than that."

"They cannot be fixed with healing magic?" Dr. Crou asked.

The old crone looked at the raven man. "You're a doctor, aren't you? Then you know how healing magic normally works. It enhances the regeneration of the body itself, thus boosting it to the point where the healing is greatly accelerated." Baba-Yaga pursed her lips. "But, when it is the heart that ails, does the heart know how to heal itself? If it did, the heart wouldn't be in its predicament in the first place. It is lost in its own labyrinth of suffering, and when it's convinced it can't get out, living is but a waking nightmare."

Odin looked deeply pensive. "Which was why he wanted to..."

Dr. Crou thought back when Drosselmeyer created the Heartless Crows, which made him realize Baba-Yaga was right. No matter what sort of healing magic was used on them, their inner pain would not diminish, and they could not return to their normal selves again. Now, he could see why that was. "I see; you are absolutely correct." Dr. Crou looked at Odin, who was deep in thought.

Odin glanced up at the witch. "Baba-Yaga, if I want to heal that human's heart, how can I do that?"

Baba-Yaga folded her arms. "If that's what you want to do, you will have to take that person's heart and cleanse it from the inside out. And, to do that... you will need to learn the magic of entering the worlds within hearts."

Dr. Crou blinked, repeating what she said to himself. "Entering worlds within hearts?"

"Normally no one sees inside your heart, as one's feelings belong to oneself alone," the witch said. "But that is precisely what you will have to do to heal a heart's wounds. This 'world of the heart' is a metaphysical location you travel to with that magic, and whatever happens within that world, is what happens within the person's heart. While you could have the ability to heal it from the inside out, you could just as easily destroy it as well, should you be careless -- or malicious."

Odin grimaced. "I don't want to destroy it," he said decisively. "That's the _last_ thing I want to do. But...." He hesitated. "I don't know how I'd do it. If I mess up..."

"Oh, if you mess up, you could not only end the existence of the heart's owner, but your own as well," Baba-Yaga said bluntly. "Truly, you would be risking your life for this human's heart, if you would go through with this mission of yours. Are you still willing to do it?"

Odin's eyes widened. "I'd have to risk my life to do it...?" He took this in pensively, but then without reservation, he replied, "Yes. I'm willing to risk my life to do this."

Then he hesitated, glancing at his friends behind him. "But... I don't know if the rest of you are willing to do that. You don't need to follow me there. I can do this on my own if I have to."

"Odin..." Dr. Crou said in a gentle voice, kneeling again to see him eye-to-eye. "I told you, didn't I? Let us be your strength. I promised that I will go with you to the stars and beyond if I have to." With his gloved hand, he ruffled the boy's hair fondly.

Loki nodded at Odin. "I'm not about to let you go somewhere ahead of me just because I'm too scared!" he said, grinning. "You're risking your life? Then I'm risking mine. Simple as that!"

Frigg put a hand on Odin's shoulder. "Wherever you would go, I shall follow," she said sincerely. "Even to the ends of the earth, then so be it."

Dr. Crou smiled inwardly. He was glad that Odin had great friends.

Odin glanced back at them with heartened eyes, and then looked back at Baba-Yaga with renewed determination. "Alright -- then _we_ are going to risk our lives to help this human. How can we do that?"

Baba-Yaga raised an eyebrow, but with the slightest of smirks on her face.

"Very well, then," the witch said. "At least one of you must learn the arcane magic of opening the door to the world of a heart. Normally, I'd deem the most experienced magic-user of the party to do this..." she said, glancing briefly at Dr. Crou, "...but it seems the one most suitable for learning and using this magic is..."

She turned her head decisively toward Odin. "...This little fledgling here."

Odin's eyes widened. "Me? Really? Am I really that powerful...?"

The old witch's smirk widened. "Oh, I don't know if your _magic_ is all that powerful yet," she remarked, "but your magic _potential_ is something I rarely see -- and I've seen quite a lot of magic. And, I sense that the power of opening doors to other worlds is something you have a bit of a knack for."

Dr. Crou chuckled to himself. "I knew you had it in you."

Before Odin can bask in the praise of his magic, the witch held up a finger sharply. "But! If you do not know how to properly cast this magic, that will mean nothing to you in your quest. So, before you can continue your quest, you will have to learn how to properly enter a heart world in the first place." As she said this, she conjured up an intricate silver mirror in her hand.

Odin blinked, and then nodded. "Right! So, how am I going to learn? Do I need to enter someone's heart world? Whose?"

Baba-Yaga held out the mirror toward Odin. "You're going to be entering your own heart world. Right here."

Odin's mouth dropped open. "What...?"

"Normally it would be difficult to enter one's own heart world with this magic, but this mirror makes it as easy as if you were entering someone else's," she said. "Now, gaze into it and focus. Notice your own thoughts and feelings, and conjure them -- imagine a door leading toward them."

Disconcerted, but undeterred, Odin did as he was told. While he gazed into the mirror, he began thinking about himself, the thoughts and feelings that had gone through his mind recently. Finding it hard to focus on his inner thoughts with his eyes open, he closed them and stood silently.

After a few moments, a pair of intricately decorated crimson doors rippled into existence in front of Odin, still closed shut.

"That was quick," Baba-Yaga said with some surprise. "Thought it'd be more difficult than that for someone so young. Well, then, go on and open them."

Odin opened his eyes, and was startled to see the pair of doors in front of him. "Wha--?" He looked up and down at the doors, scrutinizing them carefully. He gingerly put a hand on the intricate doorknob, and hesitated for a moment, his hand flinching back for a moment. After he paused, gazing up at the pair of doors thoughtfully, his lips tightened with resolve and he grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.

Out from the door shone a purple-tinged light, obscuring what lay beyond. He grabbed the other doorknob and opened the second door, stepping past the threshold and turning back to his friends, beckoning to them. "C'mon," he said calmly.

Frigg almost ran to Odin's side, and as if embarrassed at her eagerness, she hesitated after a few steps. It was only for a moment though, for she soon continued forward and followed Odin through the doors.

Loki smiled confidently, stepping toward the doors right behind Frigg.

Dr. Crou was about to head in, before he looked back at the witch. "I'm assuming that we will find out what to do when we enter?"

The witch smirked. "Go in and see what's in there, and once you've had a good, hard look, come back out. I'll deem it successful if you come back unscathed."

Dr. Crou nodded. "Good to know." And he went in after the others.

When the violet light shining from the entrance cleared, they found themselves in a grassy clearing, surrounded by a forest of tall trees draped in shadows, as if they were in the eye of a dark storm. The sky was a rich hue of vermilion, with the sun on the horizon bathed in a brilliant twilight, though it was unclear whether it was dusk or dawn.

At the center of this clearing stood a tall tree, on which many branches grew out of. And on these branches, dozens of little crows perched, fidgeting restlessly.

Odin stepped toward it, as did Loki and Frigg behind him. "Hey, that looks a lot like our recent roost tree..."

Dr. Crou looked around at the red sky and the dark forest surrounding them. "Huh, I wasn't expecting the Heart World to look like this..." He then noticed the tree in the center that Odin mentioned looked like where they roosted. "I wonder what that means..." he said to himself, trailing off.

When Odin, Loki, and Frigg approached the tree in the middle of the clearing, the crows on the branches suddenly took off from their perches, swarming above them in a cacophony of caws.

One by one, the crows landed on the ground and changed into human form, all resembling various other raven children who Odin and his two young friends recognized -- except these incarnations had no color to them, nor true substance, as if they were only made of light and shadows.

They soon realized that they were not truly the rest of their roost, for the cacophony of caws became a chorus of harsh yet quiet voices chanting, "It's your fault--" "The heart--" "You're to blame--" "You brought this on us--" And with this chorus, the shadow raven children conjured up knives in their hands, and lunged directly toward Odin.

"Watch out--!" Dr. Crou lunged forward towards the kids, his mantle forming into wings. He tried to get between them and the attackers, using his wings as a shield.

A number of the assailants were knocked back from Dr. Crou's lunge, but a fair number managed to make it past, and while Frigg and Loki did their best to fend off the remaining shadows, one escaped past their barricade and slashed Odin across his right arm, yelling, "It's all your fault!"

"Agh--!" Odin gasped, grabbing his arm in pain. But with bewilderment, he noticed that it was not blood that was seeping out, but crimson shining sparks that emitted out from the wound as if it were a smoldering flame. "What the...?"

"Odin!" Dr. Crou cried out. "Are you okay?"

Gritting his teeth, Odin nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay... but, what...? What is...?" He glanced underneath his hand where he was cut, seeing the crimson sparks floating away from the wound.

"What--?" Dr. Crou tried to take a look at Odin's wound. "There's no blood... What are the sparks, then?"

Seeing Odin had gotten injured, Frigg's eyes widened lividly, and she turned her wrath upon the shadows surrounding them, conjuring a small silver dagger in her hand. "Don't you _dare_ hurt him, you--!"

She slashed wildly at the mob of shadows, and though they disappeared into gray mist upon contact, countless more poured toward them. Though they didn't appear to be aiming for Frigg, in her fervor, one slashed at Frigg in passing, and the same sort of crimson sparks began flowing from the wound on her leg as well. "Ungh--!" she winced, her leg faltering for a moment.

But as soon as she had stumbled, she shot back up in fury, and as she shouted, "Attack and attack me, but I will _never_ let you hurt him! Your words mean nothing to me!" the wound on her leg glowed crimson and disappeared, as if it had never been there at all.

Dr. Crou observed Frigg's wound heal as she stood her ground. "Could it be? You have to let the words not bother you?"

He turned to Odin, whose wound was still open. "Odin, you have to understand that what the shadows are saying aren't true. Since this heart world is your emotions, you can't let them get under your skin and hurt you."

Odin looked at Dr. Crou with realization. "Wait... so, they're _my emotions_...? Then...!"

His lips tightened, and with a resolute expression, he stood back up, and the wound on his arm, if anything, healed even faster than Frigg's had. "I'm not going to let my own emotions defeat me!" he shouted. "If you're my emotions, then I'm telling you, _all of you had better behave!_ My friends won't let you get in our way, and neither will I!"

The shadows halted in their tracks, winding the pandemonium in front of them to an almost eerie halt. As if in obedience to what Odin had said, they backed away, switching back to bird form and flying back to their perches on the tree, somewhat less restless than they had been before.

Loki gazed around at them in shock. "They've... they've stopped... all of them."

Dr. Crou gazed at the tree, pondering what had happened. "I am guessing the tree and the shadow fledglings being in the center of this place is no coincidence. Perhaps its the center of your heart, Odin. I wonder if it will be the same for the human soldier, too."

Odin looked thoughtful as well as confused. "Yeah, maybe.... will it look the same as mine? Will it be in a clearing of a forest? Or...?"

"I doubt it. But whatever it might be, it will be much more dangerous than your heart...."

Odin's eyes glanced away, narrowing grimly. "Yeah... if it's a heart in such pain, then imagine what it must look like in there..."

Frigg glanced sharply at Odin. "Whatever it is, I'll protect you from _anything_ that comes your way," she said stoutly. "I don't care what it is."

Odin looked at Frigg seriously. "Same to you, Frigg," he said with insistence. "If my emotions are going to be my weapons to protect everyone, then I'll become a master of them, no matter what it takes."

Loki clapped both of them on the shoulders. "Right, you two, but I think we ought to get out of here before we get too far ahead of ourselves."

Odin sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he said with a small smirk. "If that's all there is to see right now, then I think we're done here."

Dr. Crou nodded. "Looks like it. The witch wanted us to take a good look around and then come back."

With that, Odin led them out of the clearing and back through the crimson doors, back into the realm of fairy tales Odin called home.

Baba-Yaga stood there waiting with crossed arms. "Well, it looks like you've had a good galavant in there," the witch said wryly. "Do you understand the task you face ahead of you now, little raven?"

Odin nodded, his expression firm and unyielding. "Yes. I know what kind of battle I'm facing now. I know how to fight it."

The witch laughed briefly. "Oh, this was a mere training exercise compared to what you'll be facing in that human's heart. Prepare yourself for a true fight for your life -- just as it is for the human himself."

Odin's face sobered, but his resolve did not waver. "Right. Duly warned."

As Baba-Yaga good-naturedly shooed them off her grounds with a lighthearted wave, the parting words she gave to Odin were this: "I meant what I said, fledgling. You have a potential I rarely see even in this world pervading with magic. If you combine that with what strength you can find in your heart -- I marvel to think of the wonders you could achieve."

Dr. Crou looked at the boy, beaming for him at the witch's words. "Hear that? You got potential the old witch has rarely seen! You will definitely be able to help the human, don't you worry."

And with that, the ravens headed off back to where Odin lived, to find the cursed heart and cleanse it for the human soldier. What they didn't know was how tough the battle that awaited them would be: a battle for their lives in the endless war of the soldier's heart.


	54. In Which Lytha Discusses the Prophecies with Friends

Lytha was walking around school to get her mind off what Evanee had said. She paced aimlessly, like a zombie, until she reached the dorms without realizing it.

During that time, Selene stood in the front of the dorms with a troubled expression, and she quietly asked herself, "Where could she be...?"

 _This is very unusual..._ Selene thought. _She is not in the café, she isn't around the fountain and she is not here, either. Maybe I am just unlucky, or something's wrong._

Lytha bumped into Selene.

"Whaa--?" Selene said, startled.

"I'm sorry..." Lytha said without looking up.

"Uh, no problem. Hey, you alright, Lytha?"

Sagi walked out of the dorms with a book in hand, about to sit by the dorm fountain to quietly read, when she saw Lytha and Selene nearby. "Oh, I don't usually see Selene around with Lytha..." She walked toward them curiously.

Lytha was quiet for a moment. "...Selene? I'm sorry."

"Everything's okay, don't worry," Selene replied.

"......." Lytha still said nothing.

Sagi came up to the two of them, and frowned upon seeing Lytha. "Miss Lytha? You don't look too well. Are you all right?"

"...I... don't know," Lytha said. "Selene, Sagi... tell me, what is Odin to you?"

"Odin...? You mean that little crow boy who was around when I went into the café for the first time?" Selene asked."Well, I have not seen him since then...so, I cannot really tell."

"...Sagi?" Lytha asked.

At this, Sagi looked startled. "O-Odin? The boy...?" She paused, uncertain. "He... he's a child I care a lot about, and want to protect."

"Then tell me -- why, why... did the prophecies say that Odin is The Raven!? Odin is just a boy..." Lytha grabbed Selene.

"Tell me..."

"Wait... what?" Selene asked in bewilderment. "Some prophecy said that the crow boy is... no, that can't possibly be. I doubt he becomes that thing which had given me the most fright I ever have had in my entire life. The raven was gigantic; his wings alone darkened the sky. You can't tell me that this little boy will be capable of being like that in the future."

"...The prophecies says that Odin will go to war... a war that will change him into the Raven..."

"A war...? Where did you hear these prophecies?" Selene asked.

"Evanee... she told me all this," Lytha said, tearing up a bit.

Sagi had heard "the Raven", and froze stiff. Could it really be that others now knew the truth about Odin, and what lay down one of his possible paths? "R-right... it's... hard for me to believe..." Sagi said nervously.

"Evanee... told me to stay away from Odin for my own protection... but Odin is already like a little brother to me. I'm so conflicted..."

"Evanee, whoever that is... did she prove it?" Selene asked.

"She... has writing powers; not as strong as Fakir, but..."

"If she does, she could very well also just write it down so that it happens, even though in reality, it should not happen in the first place," Selene said. "I don't trust this... unless she has some sort of power which foretells the future. Which, if I'm really honest, wouldn't surprise me, given that this town is far from normal."

"She... can tell the future through her prophecies."

"Let's say it is true what you say, even if I still don't believe it... what will we do with Odin, then?"

"I don't know... I don't know...!" Lytha started crying.

"Hey, it's all alright. We will find a way," Selene reassured her. "Besides, keep in mind that the entire thing could be horribly wrong, too. I'm sure it is just a misunderstanding, or something..."

Sagi's mind was going a million miles a minute. She wondered desperately what she should do about this situation. Should she continue trying to convince them that the truth was false, or should she try to convince them of what was so much harder to explain...? She bit her lips, hesitant to speak.

"But what if it's true?!" Lytha exclaimed. "I did everything in my power to keep my family safe... I can't let them go through that again."

"There is only a small chance that it is actually true. If it is, there is most likely a way to change the outcome," Selene said.

"...I don't know anymore... " Lytha trailed off.

"You should lighten up, Lytha. If you continue being sad, it just will make things worse. See the brighter side -- just think, what if it is not true? What if all of this is changeable? There is always hope in the darkness. I came to know, I... sort of experienced it myself," Selene said. "With the Raven and the light of hope..."

"...Sagi..." Lytha said, "what do you think?"

Sagi was looking even more conflicted, and she seemed outright uncomfortable. "I.... I care about that child, very much," Sagi said, her voice shaky. "And if that were to be the fate he has to face... I would do everything in my power to keep him from it."

Lytha held Sagi's hands. "Sagi... you seem... weird."

Sagi drew back slightly at the touch. "Weird...? Am I acting strangely? I apologize... this is... a difficult subject for me to talk with others about."

"I could imagine. Who knows what Odin may be capable of, if this turns out to be true... but either way, if we're talking about strange stuff already -- have any of you seen Lucy?" Selene asked. "I just can't find her... I looked in the café. No sign of her. She is not around the fountain, and not even in the dorms..."

"I think she might be in the studio..." Lytha said.

Oddly, though the concern on her face deepened upon hearing about Lucy, her anxiety seemed to lessen significantly. "She's normally in my class..." Sagi said, frowning.

"Could it be that she had not even left class yet today? Maybe she is still practicing..." Selene said.

Sagi tilted her head with puzzlement. "Maybe so... I haven't seen her since classes ended, so I don't think she came back to the dorms yet."

"...I'm sorry for bothering you two..." Lytha said.

Sagi shook her head. "If I can talk to you about my troubles, you can certainly talk with me about yours," she said to Lytha gently.

"I think you can find her in the practice rooms, Selene," Lytha said, pointing to the school building.

"I am a bit worried. She seems to have been acting strange for some time, as you may know by now, Sagi. I am just curious... what could be wrong with her?" Selene asked.

Lytha looked confused. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Lytha. Lucy is just acting a bit strange. Strange, as in, she is acting calmer. I asked her before, but she insisted that everything is fine and that I shouldn't worry," Selene said. "And not just that -- she always tells me if something is on her mind, but this time... not even I know what is going on."

"When did this happen?" Lytha asked.

"It started happening right after an event she called 'unfortunate'. It had something to do with the café, too."

"...Wait, was it... that time?" Lytha said, remembering the prince incident at the cafe when Lucy was acting strange.

"Say...you are at the café almost daily; was something strange related to her happening in the café, too?" Selene asked.

"Umm, well..." Lytha said, "I think something did happen..."

"What exactly happened? That is, if you can remember..." Selene asked.

"Well, it was when the prince was at the cafe... all I remember is Lucy acting... dark. That's it."

"She was acting...dark? Lucy sometimes jokes around, but she told me that the matter was rather serious, so... I don't know."

"Why don't you go talk to her, Selene?" Lytha asked.

"I think she just needs some time for herself. All I can do is to hope that everything's alright," Selene said.

Sagi looked pensive. "Even if we were to talk to her, I suspect she might simply tell us the same thing she has been so far."

"Let's wait until Lucy is ready to tell us," Lytha said.

"Sometimes, it just feels like not even she knows what is going on," Selene said.

"I don't think she does," Sagi said. "From what she told me, well.... in that incident at the cafe, it involved ravens, and a demon's voice..." She trailed off, as if uneasy the topic would circle back to Odin again.

Lytha flinched at the word 'raven', remembering the conversation with Evanee. "...."

Sagi shook her head. "I don't think she knows what it all meant either -- all I could understand was that she was starting to remember something about the past she had forgotten: a demon's voice talking, when she was very young. And... there seemed to be an implication that ravens were involved in the past, as well as the present."

"Ravens in her past... maybe she experienced something bad with ravens, just like I did? But, on the other hand, that doesn't explain the fact why she acted dark in the café..." Selene said. "A demon's voice. Maybe... no, that can't possibly be."

"I should probably leave now; I have bothered you two enough," Lytha said.

"No, you did not, Lytha. It is actually good that you told us. At least we know now....even if I don't really believe it just yet."

Sagi glanced at Lytha with concern. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"I... will... be fine..." Lytha said. "If anything, I will just be at home, so do come and drop by."

With hesitation, Sagi nodded. "All right, then... please take care of yourself, Miss Lytha. I know you have a tendency to forget that, but please, try to look after your health."

"I will." Lytha bowed at the two and left.

"...Either way -- say, Sagi... how do you know about Odin?" Selene asked.

Sagi glanced at Selene, opening her mouth as if about to say something, but hesitated with great trepidation. "I.... I recognized him as looking just like someone I knew here, around a year ago. It seems to be that, somehow, he is that person's past self, come here to the future from another world."

"I see... is there a special reason why his past self appeared here?"

"Well, his present self... isn't here in this town at the moment," Sagi replied. "He went traveling to see the world outside the walls. I don't know when he'll next return... but, he promised he would one day."

"Where is past Odin now? Considering what Lytha said, it would be good to know..."

Sagi's brow furrowed. "That I really don't know... I haven't seen him lately. Though, I know he was at Lytha's recent birthday party, and that..." She paused, as if saddened. "He had a lot of fun there with them all..."

"Hm... well, to be honest, I do not know if he is truly the Raven or not. Worst case, he is not, but people will start to avoid him, and he will not know why. I do hope this is just a misunderstanding."

Sagi paused pensively. "Whether he is or isn't... does it truly change who he is now? Is merely that possibility enough to question everything we've gotten to know about him?"

"Not really... and that is why I do not want to believe this," Selene said. "I assume Evanee does not know Odin too well either, so... how could she know? Lytha said she has some sort of prophecy power, but still, I do not trust that."

Sagi clasped her hands together nervously. "They've gotten off on the wrong foot at times, too... we witnessed her writing one of these prophecies, and she was in this unnaturally dark, bitter trance. And Odin did not take well to that..."

"A dark, bitter trance you say...? Considering she has the same power as Fakir, as Lytha said before, she should be careful. Considering she told Lytha that Odin is the Raven."

"I honestly couldn't tell if he had provoked it, or if he was the reason it subsided," Sagi replied. "Or neither, or both..."

"All I hope is that everything turns out to be alright in the end."

Sagi nodded. "That I hope I as well. I... if something happened to that boy because of all of this, I'd just...!" She tightened her lips in alarm.

"You sure seem to care a lot about him..."

"I suppose I make it obvious, don't I?" Sagi said with a nervous smile. "He... well, despite how different they also are, Odin reminds me so much of that friend somewhere in the world, and knowing what that friend has been through -- I want to protect the child from all of that, as much as is in my power to do so."

"You always should care a lot about your friends, that is true..." Selene said. "That is why I want to know what is up with Lucy... but that's impossible to know if she hides it from me..."

Sagi sighed. "I really can't stand feeling helpless like this; but when I have no idea what to do, what is it I _can_ do...? What either of us can do?"

"If you see Odin again the next time, maybe try to talk with him. Tell him about how you feel and how you want to protect him. It may be complicated, but not impossible."

Sagi nodded. "I have... or, I've tried to. Maybe I haven't been direct enough with him. He's confided in me a little, though I often don't know what to say to him. But..." She remembered that fleeting but precious moment when he leaned on her at the cathedral fountain. "...perhaps even that is something that will matter for him. I can hope, anyway."

"That is all you can do for now, unfortunately..."

Sagi gazed up at the sky pensively. "I hope it will be enough," she murmured, trailing off.

"And as for Lucy... I will have to wait. I am sure... or at least hope, that she will be fine at the end of all this."

Sagi nodded at Selene. "I will hope for both of them. Odin, and Lucy too."

"Anyways... I better continue to look for Lucy now. I will go to the academy next; I just hope she is there."

Sagi gave Selene a small smile. "I hope you find her there. I'll stay out here and read for a bit," she said, placing her fingers on the book in her hands.

And with that, she bid farewell to Selene and went over to the dorm fountain to sit and read.


	55. In Which Takako Briefly Ponders the Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Takako (created by Tomoyo Ichijouji, from the fanfic "Chapter of the Bird")

In the abode of a Gold Crown Town fortuneteller, a woman sat back from a long, exciting episode of visions from her crystal ball. "It's been quite exciting as of late," she said, tapping her chin with her finger. "Even as little Odin and fatherly Dr. Crou are off defying his dark destiny, it's still coming back to haunt him in the town they had just left -- but to him, it's a future he hasn't even experienced." She sighed. "Is that boy simply preordained to suffer in some way or another?"

She considered her crystal ball again. "And now, this incident with Lucy, and a dark shadow creeping upon her... how will this development play out? What will happen next?"

Takako smiled. "Of course, we shall have to wait and see."


	56. In Which Lucy Ponders Her Situation

Lucy had just returned to her dorm room, putting her things down and closing the door behind her. She sat down on her bed; another day of practicing was over for her. She felt a slight bit of relief, but... still, there was one thought that pierced through her mind, more than anything else.

Why all this? She could have stayed in the other town and continued the life she was living, but would it have been wrong? Maybe. Maybe not. On the other hand, she was home, here in Kinkan. Her hometown.

There was no reason for her to return into where she came from. There was no one there for her -- her mother died for unexplained reasons, while her father left the family when she was seven years old. In addition to that, she was the only child they ever had. She was alone.

As for Kinkan, it was different. She had Selene, who comforted her when she was plagued by bad feelings. And then, there were also Sagi and Lytha, which she had by now also considered as friends.

Yet, there were also the recent past events -- the time she truly heated up when the Prince had come around.

She clenched her fist. That bastard prince. She never had met very bad people in her life, but this had changed at that moment. Killing just for the sake of love? Of course, now he was gone, out of sight from everybody. For 50 long years. But was that enough to punish such an unthankful, vile intent? Maybe. Maybe not.

She remembered how she had lashed out at him, in a way she never had been angry before. Threatening to kill him, even. She would not lie; she loved the idea of crushing him and his thoughts while he could do nothing to stop her. It was good that Apollo had made all of them, including her, leave. Otherwise, she could not have imagined what she would have done.

Which, in return, had brought her to the next question. Why had she done this? She never saw herself as a person to threaten people, but at that moment, it felt like she had lost control. And who were "they" she had threatened him with? Was it truly the ravens she meant? Why had she acted like she knew what she was talking about?

At this point, she felt paranoid. She looked in the mirror, at her eyes. The clear blue between the gray had now been replaced by a faded red, due to reasons she would love to explain, but couldn't.

Was this all connected? She was unsure of what to think. And despite it all, she still had a slight feeling of loneliness. She started to question herself -- was she normal? Or was there something in the past hidden below all the darkened thoughts? She wished to know, yet the truth was far from her reach.

But... was it worth it to spiral down into madness because of all this? No. Not in the slightest. She knows she is not alone. She knows that she will get through this. It will take time, but she will, eventually.

She sighed and stood up and opened the door, ready to leave, to live another day in this town, as usual. Who knew what could happen next? Life was truly unpredictable, after all.

Without wasting a second thought, she walked out and closed the door.


	57. In Which Lytha Confesses Her Feelings For Leo

Lytha was in school practicing for a performance. She was so focused that Lytha didn't notice Leo watching her practice from the audience seats. "Hmmm... maybe I should turn faster at this part," Lytha said to herself.

Lytha turned, and from the corner of her eyes, she noticed someone watching her. "Leo--" Surprised, she tripped on her feet. "Meep!"

"Careful!" Leo managed to catch Lytha in time.

Lytha turned bright red. "Oh, umm, thanks."

"Be more careful."

Lytha stood up straight. "Thanks... so Leo, what are you doing here?"

"I was walking around when I saw you walking into this building, and I decided to follow you."

"Ohhh. Ummm..." Lytha was fidgeting and still blushing.

"You okay, Lytha?" Leo placed his forehead against Lytha's to check her temperature. "No fever, but you are still red."

Lytha turned scarlet red at how close she and Leo were. "I'm fine..."

Leo noticed how close they both were and took a closer look at Lytha's face. She had long eyelashes, soft lips, and bright green eyes.

"......" Leo quickly moved away and blushed a little. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay..." Lytha said. "So, Leo... what, ummm... what do you think of Evanee?"

"Miss Evanee? She is a very bright girl and very fun to talk to."

"...Do you like her?"

"Hmmm? Of course," Leo said. As a friend -- Leo was dense.

Lytha felt her heart wince for a moment. "I see..." Lytha held back her tears.

"Lytha?"

"Ummm, Leo, want to hear a song?" Lytha asked, faking a smile.

Leo, being dense, didn't notice the fake smile. "Sure."

Lytha stood in front of Leo and began to sing.

 _♪_ _Hearing your voice your words call out to me  
_ _searching for love's warm tender light  
_ _memories past of your soft gentle touch  
_ _seems like a distant memory_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Heart beating, come gently  
_ _calls out to me, calling my name  
_ _me dwelling_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Lock me with me.  
_ _find the key to my dreams  
_ _open the door, come be with me..._ _♪_

 _♪_ _Always by my side, standing here with me  
_ _which it meant to me all these years  
_ _every smile with you has me turn young  
_ _had me close and I let go_ _♪_

 _♪_ _Can you hear me?_  
 _Keep me close to your heart  
_ _just let me hear your voice_ _♪_

Lytha was silent. _I'_ _m soooo going to regret this..._

Lytha walked up to Leo. "I will say this... I have feelings for you! And I don't know if you will ever like me, but I'm saying it so that I won't regret it!"

Lytha kissed him on the lips and ran to the exit, leaving Leo stunned and blushing.

"....Lytha... likes me..." Leo was stunned, and when he processed everything, he turned bright red.

Leo decided to leave the school to think about his feelings for Lytha.

Lytha continued running, blushing deep red at what she had done. "I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot!!!"

She reached home and went straight to bed, thinking about what she did.


	58. In Which Odin Heals the Young Soldier's Heart

When they got back, Odin led them to the tree beneath which he had hidden the heart. Carefully, he unearthed it from the ground, during which the other three ravens could see the scarlet luminescence of the heart growing brighter until the heart itself was visible. He stood and held it in front of him, looking at it grimly.

This shining heart, though it lit up the trees around them with an ethereal crimson light, seemed dim and fading, and across its surface seemed to be countless scars and blemishes, clouded with what looked like dark contaminants, and a crack across its middle that looked as if it would almost break in half.

Dr. Crou took a look at the crack and grimaced. "We will need to hurry; that heart doesn't look so good. You know what to do, right, Odin?"

Odin silently nodded. He stepped out a few steps away from his friends, into an open area. He took the heart into both of his hands, held it out, and closed his eyes, focusing on the feelings he could sense within the heart. Even this action, though, caused him to grimace a little from the pain, as the crimson doors began to ripple into existence.

After a few moments, Odin furrowed his brow, and the crimson doors solidified, with the now-absent heart in his hand seeming to have become part of the door, as if the door itself was the heart in another form.

He opened his eyes and glances ahead of him at the doors. "Alright. I guess the easy part's done." The raven boy glanced behind him at his three friends, his expression serious but determined. "...Are you all ready?"

Frigg nodded emphatically, mirroring Odin's expression. Loki folded his arms and nodded as well, stepping forward. Dr. Crou nodded at the boy. Odin tightened his lips, and as if he were trying to avoid unnerving himself, stepped up to the doors and opened them without much ceremony.

As opposed to the violet light that had escaped from Odin's door, the light from beyond this door seemed distant and sallow, as if it were from the small light of a candle on the other side of a room. Odin promptly marched in, opening the door wider behind him for the others to follow. What lay behind the doors was...

The four suddenly appeared in the middle of a war-torn rural landscape beneath a darkened sky, through which no sunlight shone through the clouds. They were surrounded by shadowed human figures that resembled villagers as well as soldiers. The villagers were armed with pitchforks and shovels, the soldiers with bayonets and sabers.

They were all shoving past the four, trying to get at a figure prostrate on the ground, almost unseeable through the mob of shadows around him, endlessly jabbing and haranguing him. What you could see more of were the countless glowing crimson sparks emitting from the figure on the ground.

"Coward!" "Murderer!" "Weakling!" "Monster!" The voices gave away just how many shadows crowded around them, as the voices seemed countless, a vast din of malice and hate.

Odin's eyes widened in horror. "No, _stop!_ " Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, he prepared to fight his way through the mob of people to get to the prostrate figure. " _Get away from him!_ " When he shoved aside some of the shadows in the mob as he said this, it was as if Odin suddenly had super strength, where the shadows immediately around him were all thrown back, causing other ones to draw away slightly.

It opened up the crowd enough to lead a path to the figure on the ground, which we now see is a young blonde man in soldier's armor that was so battered that it was almost falling apart.

"...There's no point...It hurts too much..." A voice could barely be heard above the clamor of the mob, coming from the young man lying on the ground.

"Odin!" Dr. Crou followed after, watching Odin fight his way through the crowd with surprising ease. He saw that Odin's will to get to the wounded human was what allowed them through.

When the doctor reached the two, he heard the young man mutter his words of despair. Scanning instinctively, he noticed that the wounds have sparks shooting out of him, reminding the doctor that they are not in the physical realm anymore, so his usual medical knowledge would not help.

So instead he knelt next to the man, and tries to gently sit him upright. "Come on, we got you now," he said to give encouragement. Dr. Crou almost struggled to lift the body off the ground, as if the young man had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Everything is going to be alright."

"No..." the soldier says, unmoving with deadened eyes. "Just as the dead cannot come back to life, I shall never see the light of day again. Nor do I deserve to."

All around them, the shadows are relentless. They attempt to close the gap Odin had created almost as soon as it had appeared.

Odin, setting his jaw, felt that he was going to protect this soldier from the onslaught, no matter what, stepping out nearby and blocking the shadows' paths to the soldier. Within his hands, a silver sword with an indigo hilt appeared. It was large enough that Odin needed two hands to hold it, but once his determination settled, it seemed light enough for him to swing deftly. "I'll cover our exit!" Odin shouted. "Let's get out of here!"

Frigg, seeing Odin jump in front of the mob, rushed to his side. "I'm right beside you, Odin!" she said, and within her hands, a pair of silver daggers appeared as she stood back-to-back with him.

Loki, assessing the situation, hurried toward the front, and as he thought hard about how he was the strongest of the three children and they were counting on him, a silver mace appeared in his hands, and he began cuffing the shadows ahead of them. "This way!" he yelled, aiming for a gap in the legions of shadows.

Dr. Crou got on his feet and tried to put the young man's arm over his shoulder. However, despite his efforts to carry him, the young man could not budge from the spot. "Wait! Odin, he can't seem to move! Cover for us!"

After Odin briefly nodded, the doctor now tried to at least get him to a large enough rock that was nearby and let him rest more comfortably there. Dr. Crou looked at the young man's eyes, but only sees a lifeless pair stare back at him. "Hang in there, soldier," as the doctor gently shook him, "you need to stay strong. We can't have you dying when there are those who depend on you."

The young soldier grimaced. "Who would depend upon a monster like me who kills women and children just because he was ordered to? Who would depend upon a coward who escaped a losing battle, helpless to save his dying comrades around him?"

Dr. Crou bowed his head darkly as the young man's words take him back to the war with the Swan Warriors and the loss of his friends and family.

With a gloved hand, he grasped the young man's hand. "I am sorry you had to see and hear too many terrible sights that have and will haunt your very being. They will creep up at you in the middle of the night with cold sweat and tears." Dr. Crou paused, remembering the last cries of his wife's agonizing scream. "Of the struggle to obey or disobey to those you have sworn loyalty and duty to." The image of Drosselmeyer's sinister grin resurfaced from his memory.

The young man glanced up slowly at the man kneeling next to him. "You.... you're a soldier, too...?" He paused. "Then, how do you live...? How do you live on with the pain?"

Dr. Crou looked solemnly into the distance, and gave a tired chuckle. "I sometimes don't understand how myself. It was a long and hard struggle, but I was able to find others who were able to help me. I had hit some lows along the way... but I had some good friends who helped me get back up again."

He then started to take out the journal from his breast pocket and looked at the book fondly. "This was a gift from my wife. She had died serving in the war, where I had to witness her demise..." A soft glow came from the journal. "But sometimes, remembering the good times with her gives me enough strength each day, to help me start feeling again..."

Odin, fiercely brandishing his magical sword that was taller than he was, tirelessly swung it around him, keeping the shadows at bay as if it were a rising and falling tide. Frigg flitted around him, catching any stragglers that might have escaped Odin's sweep, while Loki manned the other side of the rock by himself, holding his own with deft swerves of his mace.

As the doctor talked more with the young soldier, however, the intensity of the onslaught began to abate ever so slightly. Odin noticed this, and grinned resolutely. "We can do this, everyone! No matter how many times the emotions attack, we'll keep them away from him until they stop!" he yelled loud enough for the entire party to hear.

The young soldier gazed out around him, toward where heard Odin's voice. "He continues fighting, so bravely," he said wistfully. "He has such spirit. But... I don't think I can be like that anymore. I'm not who I was before I became a soldier, and I don't think I'll ever be..."

"No, but that's okay." Dr. Crou looked on at the innocent kid, knowing the possible futures that may befall him. "There will be wounds that seem to be too deep to heal. And scars that make you look back and remember where you got them. But life is strange." The doctor smiled at the thought. "Sometimes, you gain much more wisdom and understanding of the world when you have gone through so much hardship."

The young soldier took this in with deep contemplation. As he did so, many of the glowing red sparks from his wounds slowly stopped emitting from him. "...I had thought that I didn't deserve to live after everything I'd done," he said quietly. "That I couldn't live on with memories of those horrors. But... if it's still all right for a wretch like me to continue on... perhaps the future is not as dark as I fear."

At these words from the young man, the shadows seemed to lose their fighting momentum; while still brandishing their weapons, their strikes and blows seemed to lose much of their intensity, and the thickness of the mob slowly became more sparse.

Assessing the situation around them, Loki yelled, "I think it's safer to move around now! We should be able to get out of here if we're careful."

The young soldier glanced at Dr. Crou. "If I can reach the barracks, then I should be able to find a place to recover," he said. "You couldn't see it before with the crowds, but now..." He pointed to a short distance, and the entrance of an enclosure by the side of a fortress came into view.

Dr. Crou nodded. "Alright, let me help you up then--!" This time he was able to carry the soldier without much difficulty.

With the four of them creating an escort party around the doctor and soldier, they were soon able to make their way to the enclosure, where the shadows seemed to shy away from drawing close.

The young soldier nodded. "This should be enough..."

At these words, a pair of pale hooded figures dressed in what looked like white medic's robes ran out of the enclosure, carrying a stretcher, as if they had been ready to receive him.

The young soldier was carefully placed onto the stretcher, where he lay with his hands folded, a peaceful expression on his face. "One day this battle will be over," he said quietly. "I hope I might be there to see it." Before the medics carry him away, he turned his head towards the party and said, "Thank you, strangers... for fighting by my side."

Dr. Crou motioned to the three young crows next to him. "They were very brave and strong for fighting against all those shadows. We were very glad to have helped." He then leaned closer to the stretcher and clasped the young man's hands to comfort him. "You have done well, soldier. Take a rest...You will see the light of the new day coming."

Odin nodded vehemently. "We're all rooting for you!" he said. "Keep your chin up, okay? When you can." Behind Odin, Loki nodded, and so did Frigg.

The young man nodded, and an ever-so-faint smile appeared on his face. "Yes... I'm lucky to have found people like you."

With that, the medic figures brought him swiftly away.

Once the stretcher was brought out of sight, the crimson doors that had led them into this world appeared again. Odin stood before them, looking as if he had just shed many burdens. He opened the doors without tension in his hands and led his friends back outside. They appeared back under the tree from which they had come.

Once his friends step back through the doors, they ripple away and the heart rematerializes into Odin's waiting hands. If one looked closely at the heart, they could see that the blemishes and contaminants that had suffused the entire heart were now diminished, the crack that threatened to break the heart apart entirely had been reduced to something more of a fracture, and the heart's luminescence seemed more stable and firm.

"Let's go find that soldier and give this back to him," Odin said, glancing at his friends. "I think it won't hurt him so much anymore."

They flew over to the barracks where Odin had seen the soldier's heartless self return to, and saw him standing outside, staring aimlessly off into the distance. Upon the ravens' approach, the young soldier noticed them, but did not respond.

Odin landed before the heartless soldier, cupping the precious heart in his hands. "Hey, so... I went and fixed this a little," the raven boy said, holding out the heart to him. "I thought you'd want it back."

The young soldier's heart seemed to pause in the air above Odin's hands for a moment, before it floated toward the young man and into his chest.

He clutched his chest, wincing. "Aghhh!" he cried out, as if overwhelmed by the feelings he was regaining.

But before Odin can be alarmed, the young man calmed down, the grip on his chest softening, as if realizing the pain he expected was not there.

"Little raven... it's you again," the young soldier said, mystified. "You came back with my heart... but it doesn't hurt as much anymore. How...? How did you...?"

Odin grinned a little. "Like I said, I did a little fixing. I went and helped you out in there," he said, tossing his head back at his other friends. "We all did. They came with me and helped me do it."

Dr. Crou nodded. "We were more than happy to help, soldier."

The young soldier gazed upon all of them in awe. "I... I can't believe it," he said with a strange mixture of confusion and deep relief. "I didn't think it possible, but... I feel like..." He placed his hand over his heart, and his eyes softened. "...my burden is lighter."

He shook his head in disbelief. "I... don't know how I could possibly ever thank you for this...." he said with deep gratitude. "I feel like I can try to live on... and it's thanks to all of you."

Frigg placed a hand on Odin's shoulder, giving him a gentle smile. Loki grinned and nodded behind her. Dr. Crou smiled in relief.

At the young soldier's words, Odin gave him the warmest, brightest smile he'd ever given anyone before. He replied to the young man with full sincerity, "I'm so glad I could help!"

Dr. Crou ruffled Odin's hair in affection, glad that the ordeal with the heart was finally resolved.


	59. In Which Natasha Discusses Lytha's Love Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Natasha (created by blueberryhope)

A strange-looking girl with pink purple ombre hair sat casually in the coffee shop, looking through some paperwork in the cafe. She sipped her coffee and sighed, putting away the documents and trying to relax.

Lytha walked into the cafe, still thinking about her kiss with Leo. She sat across from the pink-haired girl and looked out the window, sighing for the 50th time.

Natasha looked curiously at the new person across from her. _She looks troubled; is she alright?_ "Hey sweetie, why the long sigh?"

"Oh, ummm... its nothing," Lytha said, waving her hand in dismissal.

"Well, it won't do you good if you keep sighing about it." Natasha tilted her head and looked out the window that Lytha was looking through. "Wanna tell Big Sis about it? I have time and can lend an ear."

 _Should I...?_ "Well... I... kissed a guy," Lytha said, blushing as she remembered what had happened.

Natasha gaped and a large grin spread across her face. "No way! Wait-wait-wait-wait! Back up a little bit. Who's the guy? And how did it all get there?" Her eyes were shining with curiosity, and she placed her hands under her chin with anticipation.

Lytha fidgeted as she blushed. "Well, his name is Leo... and well, he came to town for his research, he became my teacher, and I slowly started to fall in love..."

Natasha could not stop squealing as Lytha explained. "Ahhhh! That's so cute! Is he cute? Do you have a picture?"

After a pause, Lytha took out a photo from the birthday party and showed it to Natasha, pointing to Leo. "That's him..."

Natasha scooted closer to see the photo, looking at the boy Lytha was pointing at. "Hot damn!" she said, eyes growing wide. "Giiiiiirl, he is such a looker~! Oh my gosh! Wait, when did you guys kiss? Was it on a date??"

"It wasn't on a date..."

Natasha looked at her, really puzzled.

"Well, you see... I did it on impulse. He came to see my rehearsal, and when I asked if he liked my best friend, he said yes... so I kissed him, and told him I had feelings for him." Lytha was beet red. "And then, I sort of ran away."

Natasha gaped again. "Wait, he said he had feelings for your best friend, but then you just went ahead and did the 'kiss and confess' on him?? Oh Lord, no wonder you were so troubled."

Lytha nodded.

Natasha took a sip of her drink, contemplating on how to help, even if just a little bit. "Did you get to meet him again after that?"

"I have been avoiding him..."

"Yeah, I would too, to be honest," Natasha sighed for the girl. "Well, you can't run away forever. Do you at least want to stay friends?"

"...I don't know. I mean, if he got together with Evanee, I would be happy for her, but..."

"I would say staying friends is at least better than losing a friend, or worse... becoming enemies."

"...Can I really stay like that?"

"Yeah, sure you can! But I think you at least need to apologize for suddenly kissing him when he said he liked your friend. And then offer that you guys can stay friends if he still wants to."

"Is it wrong for me to think we can be more than friends?" Lytha gripped her skirt.

"No, it's not wrong. But you should at least talk to him. I mean, you ran away before he could tell you what he thought." Natasha started to get up. "Want to go look for him now? I'll help you."

"Ehhh?! No, I couldn't! I'm scared, and what would I say?" Lytha started panicking.

"That's why I said I'll help you!" Natasha said with a grin. "First, go find him. Apologize for the sudden kiss. Then listen to what he has to say next. Okay?"

"Okay..."

"Oh! By the way, the name's Natasha." She held out a hand to shake.

"Name's Lytha." Lytha shook Natasha's hand.

Then, Leo walked into the cafe.

"Wait, isn't that him??" Natasha pointing at the guy who had just come in.

Lytha turned to see Leo, and quickly turned back, hiding her face.

Natasha whispered to Lytha, "Hey! No hiding! You can do this!"

Lytha whispered back, "On second thought, I can't!"

"You can't run forever! Plus, he will notice you!"

"...But..."

"Here, take this talisman," Natasha said, placing a small rose-shaped wood coin into Lytha's hand. "It's for courage and eloquence." She winked.

Leo noticed Lytha, and blushed slightly thinking about the kiss; ever since then, he had been sorting out his feelings.

Natasha observed that Leo was actually getting red. _Huh...I wonder. I think there were some misunderstandings. Giving her the talisman was the right choice._

Leo walked up to Lytha, still blushing, but making sure that Lytha didn't notice. "Lytha... mind if I talk with you... alone?"

Lytha was panicking. "Ah, ummm, sure?"

Natasha mouthed to Lytha, 'You got this!' before Lytha stood up and walked outside the cafe with Leo.

 _This is awkward..._ Lytha thought as the two of them stood there silently at the front of the cafe.

"So, ummm, Lytha, about what happened... back at the school stage..." Leo began.

Lytha bowed 90 degrees. "I'm so sorry about the kiss! I did it on impulse, and I didn't think about your feelings for Evanee! If you hate me, I understand, but please continue to be my friend!!"

Leo was stunned for a moment. "Please, Lytha, don't bow; I'm not mad."

Lytha stood up, shocked. "...You are not mad?"

"I'm not..." Leo said. "I'm actually happy you kissed me..."

"But, you said you liked Evanee..."

"I meant as a friend, Lytha."

"Ahh, but -- I'm still sorry for kissing you..."

Leo smiled. "Lytha, after what happen with that kiss, I started to sort out my feelings, and I have finally figured out who I really like... no, love."

Lytha was nervous. "Oh, who is the lucky girl?" She tried to smile.

Leo smiled and pulled Lytha into a kiss. Though Lytha was stunned, she didn't resist and kissed back.

Natasha, who was watching from the window, saw the two kiss and tried her best not to squee in delight.

After what seemed like an eternity, they both separated. Lytha blushed and looked away.

Leo laughed and turned Lytha's face around toward him again. "You are cute when you blush."

Lytha pouted. "...Stop teasing."

"I better get going, I have to go help someone..." he said, before whispering into Lytha's ear, "I will see you later, my dear." Leo kissed Lytha's cheek and left the cafe.

Lytha was blushing red at what had happened, yet she could not help but smile. Natasha waited for Lytha to come back down to earth (and her table).

Finally, Lytha walked back into the cafe, smiling and sitting down at the table.

"Ahhhhh, I'm so happy for you!!" Natasha squealed.

"Thanks..."

"So wait, what was that about your friend then? Considering you guys kissed for five whole minutes."

"I, umm..." Lytha buried her face into her hands and couldn't say anything, as she was so embarrassed.

"Ah! Sorry, you're still overwhelmed. But at least it's a happy resolution between you two!" Natasha stroked Lytha's back to comfort her.

"I'm sooo embarrassed," Lytha said.

"It's fine. It all turned out all right. Now you two get to be more than just friends." Natasha gave a playful nudge.

"Don't tease me... but yeah, I'm glad," Lytha said, smiling before she looked panicked. "Oh, but what will I tell Evanee?! Will she get mad; will she no longer want to be my friend?!"

"Evanee? Ohhh, is that your friend you were talking about?"

"Yeah, Evanee is my best friend."

"Your best friend? Well, if she's your best friend, you should at least tell her the good news!" Natasha looked at the clock and frowned. "I need to get going, though. I have an appointment in an hour."

"Oh, thanks again, Natasha -- for everything."

"No problem! Maybe we will meet again someday, and you will need to tell me about all the dates you'll have gone on with him~!" She winked at Lytha.

Lytha blushed, but nodded. "I should get going too; I have some work. See you, Natasha!"

Lytha waved goodbye to Natasha, and the two of them left the cafe, going their separate ways.


	60. In Which Evanee Confides in Natasha

Evanee wiped down the tables, sighing at the lack of people in the cafe. She’d been working really hard, often taking up shifts in the bookstore when her friends came around. She couldn't bear for them to see her like this.

The door rang open, and a girl with pink purple ombre hair walked into the cafe. She had liked the spot and was looking forward to enjoying some nice tea latte to wind down after her business meetings.

"Oh, hello, welcome in!" Evanee put on the best smile she could.

"Hello!" Natasha greeted the server. She quickly picked out a seat by the counter and raised her hand to order. "Sweetheart, can you get me a London Fog, please?"

Evanee steps up, her ponytail bouncing lightly behind her. "Will do. Love your hair, by the way."

Natasha smiled at the compliment. "Heheh, Thanks! I got one of my friends to dye it for me. They are practicing to become a herbal-stylist."

"Oh, ever so fancy," Evanee said, going behind the counter to make the London Fog.

"Haha, that sounds fancy, but she's just trying to combine her herbalist skills with hairstyling, so going for that au naturel look. As much as pink hair can, anyway."

"Well, I think it looks lovely." Evanee rested the London Fog in front of Natasha. "I'm Evanee, by the way."

"Evanee? That's a cute name! I'm Natasha." She held out her hand to shake.

Evanee took it, but a crow shrilled outside, causing Evanee to jump backwards.

"Wow, rude," Natasha said deadpan at the crow. But she looked up and noticed Evanee's composure faltering. "Is everything okay, Evanee?" she asked gently with concern.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -- excuse me, I need to check something real quick," Evanee popped around the corner, into the bathroom and closed the door.

Natasha frowned, looking out the window again to check for the crows.

She remembered that Goldcrowne was the place where Prince Siegfried defeated the Raven, but it was also the place where the Raven had caused a lot of damage. She figured the townspeople were still wary of crows and ravens because of that. She wondered if Evanee had trauma related to crows? She wasn't sure how to broach the topic, since they had just met.

Come to think of it, did she sense some magic coming from Evanee? Natasha's own magic wasn't very powerful, so she used other skills to make up for that. She sighed at her low skill level and started sipping her tea.

In the bathroom, Evanee stifled a sob and splashed her face. She rustled through her things in her bag, bringing out the journal. She looked around the bathroom for anything sharp enough, but upon not finding anything, she looked at the sharp cabinet handle. Sighing, Evanee slashed her palm across it, cringing at the pain. Evanee let herself write out the prophecy as the urge passed.

She slammed her head against the wall, watching as the words settled. She didn't wanna read it, not now.

Evanee wrapped her wound and exited the bathroom, wiping the tears before putting a calm face back on and heading back for Natasha. "Sorry about that."

Natasha was about to reply when she noticed Evanee looked worse, with her eyes and nose puffed red and a tired weight on her shoulders. "Evanee? Are you okay? You look awful." Natasha stood up and walked over to her, looking at her face carefully with worry. "What's wrong?"

Evanee couldn't take it anymore. She burst into ears, practically falling to the ground.

Alarmed, Natasha tried her best to catch her. "Evanee??"

She knelt with Evanee, trying to hold her as the poor girl sobbed in her arms. She let her have a moment, stroking her back to soothe the girl.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't be -- this is a restaurant, for God's sake! I work here! And we've just met..."

"Shhhh, it's okay. It's all right. You are obviously having a hard time, sweetie. Let yourself cry."

Apollo heard some ruckus and walked out from the back room, away from his paperwork duties. "Evanee? Is everything alright?" As he got a closer look, he saw that she was crying.

"Ah, sorry sir, are you her boss? It looks like she is under a lot of stress. Please, can you let her off today? She could use some rest," Natasha said to him.

"Oh heavens, you should have said something, Evanee. It's alright if she takes the day off," Apollo replied.

"Thank you, sir," Natasha said to the polar bear. She looked down at the sobbing girl, trying her best to calm her down.

"Mr. Bare, I'm so sorry...” Evanee said between sobs. She looked up at Natasha, wiping her eyes. "Th-Thank you."

"No need to be sorry, Evanee. I'll be just fine. You two can use the back room if you wanted to talk somewhere more private," Apollo said to Evanee.

Evanee sniffed and stood up, giving Apollo a smile and heading to the back room, her hand clenching Natasha's.

Once they got there, they tried to settle themselves down. "You okay, sweetie?" Natasha asked.

"Oh god, I've made a mistake. I don't know what to do!"

"What mistake? Can you tell me?"

Evanee looked up. "My, um... my closest friend has this other friend, and that other friend... well, I know that is going to do terrible things... but I know she--my friend--cares about him... I just--I just don't know what to do! If she stays close to him, he could bring her death! I don’t wanna believe he's bad... he may not be now, but I know he will be someday."

"Wait, how do you know he will be 'bad' someday? Isn't that a bit harsh to assume?"

She shook her head. "I, uh... I have prophetic powers."

Natasha paused. "Oh boy." She rubbed her temples trying to process that, because powers of prophecy were usually very tricky. She might as well try to delve deeper. "How do your prophecies manifest?"

"I don't always see them... in fact, I usually don’t see anything. I just write cryptic messages about it."

"Written prophecies? Huh, a bit unusual. But you said they are cryptic, right? How would you know what they are really about?"

"There are clues scattered in them. Sometimes I have to refer back to other prophecies to understand. I'll write the same words in one, showing that it is connected to the other. I overheard a conversation a short time ago, one that made the prophecy click in my mind."

Natasha furrowed her brow. "Ah, repeating patterns, I see. And what is your success rate on them?"

"I've yet to come across one that doesn't come true," Evanee said, "Which is why I can't risk it!"

"Ugh, this is where I wish I took divination more seriously. But that's a crazy probability. It probably helps that they are cryptic that it increases the chances."

Evanee nodded, gripping at her skirt. "I don’t know what to do... if we continue the path we are going on now, he'll become the—all the pain, all the suffering would occur again."

"...Is it okay if I look at the prophecies?"

Evanee grabbed her journal. "I-I don't feel super comfortable about it, but here..." She placed it on the table in the room.

Natasha looked at the scrawled writing, about ravens and warnings. But something else about it made her uneasy... "Um, what kind of ink did you use to write this?"

"It's... it's my blood."

"Wait, your blood?"

She nodded. "I get these... urges. Urges to write. Most commonly driving me to use my own blood."

Natasha was taken aback by that, but she has heard about some blood magic, albeit vaguely. "Wow, that is some troublesome magic..." She scratched her head.

Then Natasha noticed a page with writing that was still fresh. "Is... this what you were writing in the bathroom?"

Evanee nodded and glanced over at the writing; she hadn't wanted to read it, but she supposed it might be a good idea. " _'U_ _nless there is a gentle hand to guide them out of misery, the one who weaves events foretold will unravel with the mystery'_."

"'- _-unless there is a gentle hand to guide them...'_ Hey, that sounds like a good thing, doesn't it?"

Evanee frowned. "I'll have to see if it connects to other prophecies, but I think it's talking about my cousin, Fakir."

"Oh, your cousin? Does he know about all the prophecies you are writing?"

"He knows of them, yes, but he and I haven't talked much recently..."

"Oh, really? Maybe you should have talked to him about it. Hmm... it's strange, though--is he the one you are worried about? The other friend that might bring your... best friend's death or something?"

"It speaks of a weaver... Fakir—my cousin— isn't a part of what I'm worried about, but I think it refers to a story Spinner."

"A Storyspinner? The fabled power to spin stories to reality? Wow, that's quite amazing!" Natasha said in surprise. "But, this says ' _weaving events foretold'_...is he directly responsible for the events the prophecies are talking about?"

"I.... how could it be?"

"Well, there's no pronouns nor actual names, so it could be anybody..." Natasha scratched her head.

"It can't be me. The prophecies are never about me. Perhaps it's Drosselmeyer? Or another spinner?"

"Hmm, I would have no idea if Drosselmeyer is behind this, but the witches would freak out and ban me from coming back home if he was back... Oh, by the way, the witch community didn't visit Goldcrowne for about a century because of him." Natasha asked, "Is there another Spinner?" Or is it actually talking about someone else?"

Evanee rested her head on the table. "I don't know. I can't think about other prophecies when I'm still dealing with the problem at hand."

"The friend who is death?"

"Well, not death. She could die because of someone else that she trusts."

"What prophecy said that?"

Evanee sighed. "Can I... tell you something? You can't tell anyone, either."

Natasha nodded. "I swear. I maybe seem light-lipped, but I'm pretty good at keeping secrets."

"I don't know.. I don't want you to get the wrong impression of him, but... I don't know if I should even say anything! Just telling Lytha tore her apart!"

"Then don't tell me. Tell your cousin Fakir, since he knows about these prophecies and probably knows more on how to deal with them," Natasha said. "I'm here to help you sort through this, but you can't think you have only one option. There's always a way; you probably just need help from others to see it."

Evanee sighed. "I just don't want anyone to get hurt."

Natasha looked at Evanee pensively. "Well, it's good that you don't want anyone to get hurt... But it won't do you good continuing as you are right now." She looked up and down at the disheveled Evanee.

“If you were me. If you had a prophecy that said your best friend's friend was going to become evil, what would you do?”

Natasha blinked. "Then I'd try to see why that would happen and do my utmost to prevent it."

She looked at Natasha. "You're right! The prophecy means it will happen, but if I can’t prevent it, then what I have to do is create a different prophecy!”

"Wait, you can do that?"

"If I try hard enough, I can shift the prophecy! I can change its course like my ancestors did."

Natasha stared at the girl. "Evanee... are you sure you don't have Spinning powers?"

"Well... I do, just a little bit though. I can kinda... influence them, but I can't make things happen from nowhere."

Evanee took the journal and her pen, placing it down. She then proceeded to unwrap her left hand from its bandage.

"Wait! Why do you insist that the prophecies are 100% fixed?"

"They've _always_ come true," Evanee replied. "And from my research, they have with my ancestors as well."

"Well, if you always did the same thing as they did, they always will be! IF you actually read your prophecies carefully, they have conditions and statements. This is rare for a 100% fixed prophecy. Most prophecies are descriptions, and rarely have conditions."

"...So... the future can be... changed?"

"YES! If you compare it to a math equation, 'if something happens, this will be the result'. And if you see here, _'unless there is a gentle hand--_ _'_ " Natasha pointed at the paper. "' _Unless'_! That is a conditional statement. So if there is a gentle hand, then the next sentence _'_ _the one who weaves events foretold will unravel with the mystery'_ will not come true!"

"...It’s you," Evanee said.

 _What the hell?_ Natasha thought.

"The gentle hand."

"Oh good, I'm glad I'm not death." Natasha facepalmed.

"I wasn't... taken aback because of the crow... I was taken aback because you--"

Natasha calmed down a bit. "Huh? Because I am...?"

"Your hand," Evanee said. "I have to get you to meet Fakir, if his undoing is coming up then you're the only one who can save him!"

Natasha stared at the girl dumbfounded, her anger boiling over at what Evanee was blatantly ignoring. She slammed the office desk next to them out of sheer frustration. Evanee jumped in her chair.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, WE NEED TO HELP YOUR COUSIN?! WHEN IT'S COMPLETELY OBVIOUS _YOU_ ARE THE ONE WHO IS COMING COMPLETELY UNDONE RIGHT NOW!??"

Evanee dropped her pen.

"WHY DO YOU KEEP SAYIN THAT 'I don't want anybody to get hurt...' WHEN YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS SUFFERING THE MOST? YOU DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO TALK TO YOUR COUSIN UNTIL YOU SAW THAT PROPHECY!"

"But it--" Evanee said. "It doesn't matter if I suffer; everyone else is fine that way."

"AND WHAT IS THIS BS WHEN YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE SPINNER POWERS FLOWING IN YOU?? YOU SAID 'Oh but it's never about me.' WELL, I WONDER WHY?? SEEING HOW YOU THINK ITS NEVER ABOUT YOU? SURE, IT'S AWFUL TO THINK YOUR FRIEND MIGHT DIE, BUT YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE A VERY SKEWED PERCEPTION OF THE REALITY AROUND YOU!"

Natasha took a breath, finally calming down from her episode.

"I'm sorry," Evanee said.

"DON'T--!" Natasha held up a hand.

Evanee bit her tongue out of pure fear.

Natasha took a few more breaths before sighing, exasperated. "....Why do you do this to yourself?"

Evanee looked down. "I-- and hear me out before you say anything... I've never been important. I lived on my own for ten years; I don't remember anything from before I was five. I couldn't do anything to stop the Raven, I couldn't stop Prince Alex, I couldn't comfort anyone. I don't consider myself, because I'm not what is focused on. It doesn't matter what happens to me, because for everyone, I'm just a side character. I support them, and help them achieve their goals... but that's all I'm good at," Evanee said. "My only use to anyone is my prophecies. I'll never be as magical or strong as everyone else."

Natasha sobered a bit, hearing out Evanee's history, with her anger flaring up again at hearing such self-deprecating talk... "I understand where you are coming from, but do not say such things. Nothing and no one is too small or unimportant. You know the tale of Princess Tutu, right? The revised one?"

Evanee nodded her head slightly.

"We now all think she's a main character, but before? She was a side character with two lines. And even in the revised one--what? She's just a duck."

What Natasha was saying rang true with Evanee. Because of just a simple two sentences, a tear ran down her cheek. Natasha was right.

"But that doesn't matter, because the amazing thing is that a small duck was able to save the Prince. And she was supposed to be the 'side character'. And even now, I have always looked up to her and inspired me to pursue my career," Natasha said. "So don't say that you don't matter, because I'm sure there are those who care about you. Hell--! I just met you, and I care about you."

Evanee gave a sheepish smile and a small laugh. "Thanks..."

"Okay, now that I'm done being angry with you--!" Natasha went over to Evanee and gave her a big hug.

Evanee hugged her back, a bright smile on her face.

As they separated, Evanee spoke again. "I know I need to focus on myself and not be so hard on myself or whatever, but I think I need to help to fix this."

Natasha nodded. "Sure, I'll be glad to help. I can make arrangements to stay here in Goldcrowne until you can get back on your feet. In the meantime--" Natasha hugged her again, but in a more... playful, suffocating way. "You still need more hugs!"

"Hehe." For the first time in weeks, Evanee felt herself truly smile. "Thank you, Natasha, and I apolo--I hope I didn't hinder your day too much."

"Well, if you apologize one more time, I'mma flip some tables again." Natasha smirked, still locking her in the hug.

"Okay, I think that's a lot of... hugging. I do enjoy it though."

"Nope, you still need more hugs," Natasha joked.

They both laughed and laughed in the back room office, feeling close despite having met only for a short while, as if they were sisters just having a good time.


	61. In Which Lytha Talks With Lucy About Ravens

Lytha was walking around outside of the academy after ballet classes had ended for her. Lucy also had just left the academy, planning to head back to the dorms.

Lytha didn't watch where she was going and bumped into Lucy. "Oof... ouch... oh, I'm sorry -- wait... Lucy?"

"Oh--Hello, Lytha. How are you doing?"

"I was having a walk around after ballet class. How about you?"

"I am doing fine; thank you for asking."

"You seem... tired. Is everything okay? Selene has also been worried about you," Lytha said.

"Selene is worrying a bit too much about me; I am fine -- and I am not tired, either."

"Well, you are my friend. But besides that... I wanted to ask you about something."

"What is it...?"

"...It's about what happened at the cafe...'that time'."

"That... time?" Lucy asked. She internally sighed; she knew what Lytha meant -- the day where she lashed out heavily at the prince and even threatened to kill him. The first time when that...vicious feeling had happened. "I do know what time you mean... I did not plan to drift into anger like that, it... just happened. I couldn't control it."

"I know we are not close friends, but do you want to talk about it? I mean, even your eyes changed colors that time, and that usually does not happen for you..." _I_ _hope she is not mad at me saying that..._

"It's nothing, really. I, uh..." Lucy stopped. "Damn it. Yes, I did have some troubles -- but I already managed to sort them out, somewhat... hopefully. As for the eye color change... I myself do not know that either."

"I'm willing to listen," Lytha replied.

"See, I want to know these things myself, but I do not know what is going on with me..."

"You said something about 'them'. Were they... the ravens?"

"I do not know who I meant with 'them', either... but I think that may have been what I meant. I just have this feeling. But if so, then why?"

"Well... when your eye color changed, it reminded me about the ravens... and with what Evanee told me...."

"It reminds you of...? Wait. What Evanee tell you?" Lucy asked.

"I mean, with Odin being the Raven and all, and well, I... I just..."

"Odin...? Selene told me about a little raven child; is this his name?"

"Yes..."

"You think he is the Raven...?"

"Ummm..." Lytha sighed. "Let's take a seat; this is going to be a long story." She guided Lucy to a bench.

"Very well, then..." Lucy sat down on the bench.

Lytha sat down next to her. "Lucy, you know about Evanee's powers, right?"

"I do. She has similar but weaker powers than Fakir. And Selene told me that Evanee apparently has the power to predict certain events with prophecies. Why do you ask?"

Lytha clenched her skirt. "Evanee told me the prophecies state that Odin is the Raven....."

A feeling Lucy knew all too well started to resurface again; however, this time, Lucy tried to avoid it... "Well, but... maybe Evanee holds some grudge against Odin, and this is the reason she predicts that. By no means, I am not saying Evanee may be lying, but it sounds like a stretch to me. How could a kid like Odin become the being people here feared so much?"

"...No, I don't think Evanee holds a grudge against Odin; she and Odin were pretty close... Evanee also said that Odin will become the Raven because of a war."

"Because of a war? Okay, this definitely sounds like a stretch. A war can change people, for better or for worse of course, but it does not turn someone into a raven demon..." Lucy said. "On the other hand... after hearing what happened before I arrived here, anything could be possible at this rate."

"I also want to believe that Odin is not The Raven, but Evanee would never lie to me... I'm so conflicted right now. Evanee told me to stay away from Odin until we can be sure..."

Lucy winced. There came that vicious feeling again. "But even if he is...would you be able to blame him? Sometimes, humans can say whatever they please and there will always be someone to believe it."

"I don't know... I really don't know..." Lytha started tearing up.

"If more people get involved, this will become a witch hunt against some child, who some girl claims to be a demon. And... you said yourself that fate can be changed. Fakir and Princess Tutu did and stopped the madman from finishing his tragedy. Who is to say that Odin can't change his fate, if he really is the Raven?" Now Lucy kind of had the vicious feeling under control, at least.

"But what if the prophecies are true...? After everything I did to keep my family safe, can I really let them go through this again?"

"Listen... if you believe it that much, you may never be able to seperate the truth from the lies. Who knows what really is true?" Lucy asked. "And as I have said... Odin could change his fate. Evanee can predict whatever she wants, she can say that it will happen no matter what -- but in reality, Odin could always be on a better path to become someone other than a demon. Just because the ravens were vicious in the past, who is to say that they still are? Heh, who is really the evil one here and who is not?"

"...." Lytha was silent. _She is right....but after what I promised, can I really think like that...?_ "Hey, Lucy, you seem to believe the ravens are not vicious. Why is that?"

"No matter how good or bad, lovely or vicious someone is, they have their own intentions. It is simply unfair if they are blamed without people knowing what those intentions are." Lytha paused. "Say, I have a question for you, Lytha..."

Lytha looked puzzled. "What is it?"

"What if Evanee were to tell you that one of those close to you may become a raven? Or hell, what if _I_ were one? Would you avoid me, too?"

"I.... I..." Lytha couldn't answer. "I don't know..."

"This is the problem. If all of them were to be ravens, Evanee would tell you to avoid them, too. And then you would be alone. And loneliness is a bad thing... trust me, I've felt it often enough. It is risky, but isn't it unfair that she cuts off a friendship because of something only she claims to be true?"

"...You are right..."

"Again, I am not saying Evanee is lying to you, but as I said, who knows who is in the right and who is not?"

"....."

In the ensuing silence, Leo approached Lytha and Lucy, appearing behind Lytha and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Lytha?"

Lytha turned around. "Leo?"

Leo noticed Lucy and nodded at her. "You are Lucy, right?"

"Yes."

"It has been a while since the cafe incident," Leo said. "What were you two talking about?"

Lytha said nothing as she kept thinking about what Lucy had said.

"A few serious matters... but nothing too concerning, really," Lucy replied.

"Lytha?" Leo turned to her.

"What?" Lytha said. "...I mean, yeah, what Lucy said...."

Leo decided to not press the situation. "I better get going... I need to go help out at a store. I will see you later, my love." He kissed Lytha on the cheek.

"Oh, okay... see you later," Lytha said, watching Leo leave.

"I see you have a boyfriend now?" Lucy asked.

Lytha blushed. "Yes, we got together a few days ago."

"I am happy for you."

"Thanks... I always thought I couldn't find love."

"Well, in some cases, love finds you, I suppose."

"Hey Lucy, can I ask...?" Lytha hesitated. "If... if you were a crow, and I say I will still be your friend... would you say I'm stupid?"

"I wouldn't..."

Lytha hugged Lucy and began crying. "Th-thank you... I'm sorry, please let me cry for a while..."

"It's okay..."

After crying for a while, Lytha sat back up. "I'm sorry... I can get emotional sometimes."

"It's no problem. After all, no one can be completely emotionless..."

"Don't tell Leo I cried," Lytha said.

"I won't."

"Say, obviously besides the Raven, was there someone else who tried to stop Princess Tutu in the past?"

"Ummm, Rue at the time was Princess Kraehe," Lytha replied.

"The royal princess used to be a villain herself?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah."

"Interesting..."

Lytha looked at the pocketwatch Noah had given her."I better go; Leo is waiting for me."

"Alright, then. It was nice talking to you, Lytha."

Lytha stood up. "Same... see you next time, Lucy."

"See you later."

Lytha waved goodbye and went off to find Leo, and Lucy remained sitting down as she watched Lytha leave. But after some minutes, she stood up and left as well.


	62. In Which Noah Visits His Home World

Noah stepped out of the portal, tucking the feather into his satchel and looking at his surroundings. He was in an alleyway, with two brick walls rising towards the sky on either side. The light suggested it was the afternoon.

Noah looked out of the alley and a car passed by. So he was in modern day. He picked up the back of his long coat to step over some garbage and out of the alleyway.

The bustling streets allowed for him to blend in the crowd without a question of why a man wearing clothes from a century-and-a-half ago had just came out of the alley. Noah glanced at the street names. Interesting; it had dropped him not far from home—the shop.

Soon, he reached the doors to his home. The brick building was sandwiched between two more modern ones: a Banana Republic and a Chase bank.

Noah turned toward the display window that spanned across the front, broken only by the door in the middle. To the naked eye, such a shop would look like an antique store, but no naked eye could see this. Just as no naked eye would notice Noah stepping into the shop... unless the owner of that eye possessed magic.

"We have a customer!" his mother's sing-songy voice rang through the shop, which looked quite a bit bigger on the inside.

Noah shifted uncomfortably, preparing himself for an inevitable slap across the face.

"Noah?!" A girl slightly younger than Noah stepped out from the back. Her outfits always reminded Noah of the ones from a steampunk novel. Her long blonde hair was in pigtails, and the color seemed unnatural compared to her brown skin.She ran up and hugged Noah, nearly tackling him to the ground. "Where were you? We were so worried!"

Noah hugged the girl back, smiling slightly at her embrace. "Hi, Lucille."

"Master Noah! You've returned."

"Nice to see you, Firas."

Alexandria stepped out of the back tentatively. She looked at her son with teary eyes, marching toward him.

Noah braced for what was to come, but he was shocked to find his mother pulling him into a hug.

She sniffled. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine."

Lucille punched Noah's arm. "Seriously, where were you?"

The four of them sat at the mahogany circular table in the back as Noah explained the events that caused him to stumble into Kinkan, and what had happened while he was there.

"So, you... traveled into a portal dimension very similar to ours, but not ours... and ended up in a town controlled by stories?" Alexandria asked.

"And the writer of the stories... was he a creator?" Lucille asked.

Noah shook his head. "Magic doesn't work like that over there. It's not a system or government like ours; though, there are some similarities. Instead of creators that bring magic into the world, they have Spinners that can manipulate the world around them."

"The events that happened there sound as though they aren't being regulated," Firas said.

"That’s because there aren't any watchers like you, Firas. The closest you have are what Evanee has referred to as the Book Men. They just cut off the hands of Spinners who have too much power."

"Yeesh, are you sure a guy named Drosselmeyer wrote all this? It sounds like it's coming straight from Edgar Allen Poe," Lucille remarked.

Just then, the office door burst open, eyes of fire locking with Noah's. Marshel marched over to his son, slapping him hard across the face. "You stupid boy! Do you have any responsibility?!"

"Marshel, that's enough," Alexandria said, grabbing her husband's arm, but he shook her off.

"What was it this time, huh? Was it a girl you were so eager to charm? Was it a hopeless dream you have of not doing what you are supposed to be doing with your miserable life? Five years, Noah; five years before you have to move out, find a respectable wife and start your own shop as a time shifter, and what are you doing? Wasting away our own time!"

"Marshel!" Alexandria exclaimed. "Breathe, my love, before you make assumptions."

"They aren't assumptions if I know they're true."

"They aren't," Noah said.

Marshel stared at his son.

"You wanted me to find a respectable wife, you want me to settle down somewhere and carry on the business. I understand that. I've found that."

Lucille stared. "You what?"

"Kinkan. Everything you want me to be, everything I want. It's all there," Noah said.

"What is this 'Kinkan' you speak of?" Marshel asked.

"It's a town in another dimension. Noah stumbled across it looking through the family portals," Firas answered.

The bell up front rang.

"We will have to put this conversation on hold; we have a customer," Alexandria said.

Marshel grunted. "What time?"

"1869."

"Oh, come on!" Lucille exclaimed. "We were just there; what do they want now?"

"Lucille, you know there are a lot of things happening that magical creatures are worried about," Firas said. "The first transcontinental railroad, Ulysses Grant's election, the suffragette movement..."

"Okay people, we don't have time for this," Marshel said.

"Lucille, dear, please either change or hide yourself," Alexandria told her.

"But Miss Amcer!" Lucille said.

"It's 'Missus', and you know the civil war ended only recently; people are still extremely shocked by the presence of a woman like you. I hate it, too, but we can't tell people about progressions of the future; just events that can affect the magical population."

"Ugh, fine," Lucille stalked off to her room, leaving the other four to prepare for the time shift.

"Whenever you are ready, Mistress Amcer," Firas said.

She took out the pocket watch, waiting for her husband to go up front with a mimic of it. "Yes, and this time, Marshel, don't talk about my father; you don't have to try that hard to prove you're the shifter."

"Understood, my love."

She popped the knob up, turning it counter-clockwise until the hour hand reached the 6 and the minute reached the 12. Then, Alexandria clicked it in, the sound of gears shifting around them. The tips of her fingers glowed with a bronze halo as the pocketwatch became apart of the Aura; then, the color burst outwards, bronze lining the walls of the store, a rainbow shimmer among all the objects around them.

A ticking sound increased, and the room began to spin, a hologram-like clock hand extending out to the front door and making its way clockwise around the room, speeding up and going around six rotations before resting on the door again, the bronze and rainbow colors dissipating. Outside the weather was now cloudy, with a rainy pattern of light.

A man and woman stepped through the front door, arm in arm.

"Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Johnson; how are you?" Marshel asked.

The man smiled. "We are well. Olivia and I thought we'd run some errands for the boarding house."

Alexandria stepped out from the back. "How is Miss Summerford doing? Has the tuberculosis gone down?"

Olivia stepped up, giving Alexandria a small hug. "Oh yes, it has, thank you for the potion you gave us; it cured her in no time. Thank goodness, or there would only be four reapers in town."

"It was no potion, just advanced technology..." Alexandria trailed off. "Anyway, how can we help you?"

Noah exited to his room, sure that his parents were handling the small number of customers just fine.


	63. In Which Noah Brings Dr. Crou Back Home

After such an eventful journey, it was time for Dr. Crou to return to Kinkan, and Odin wanted to be certain to see him back safely. So the four ravens headed back for the first place they had met -- the area of the woods where the portal between worlds appeared for Odin.

Frigg pouted, crossing her arms. "So we _still_ can't go through this thing, even though the doctor can?"

"I don't think so, as much as I'd like to bring you two with," Odin said, looking frustrated. "I'm definitely gonna try to ask that human named Noah about it when I get the chance."

Loki folded his arms as well. "In the meanwhile, we'll meet you back here when it's roosting time," he said to Odin. "Don't be late!"

"I'll be back in time, don't worry," he said with a smirk.

Odin turned toward the empty spot where the portal had been before, and with a mere raising of a hand, it reappeared in front of him. He turned to Dr. Crou. "Okay, it's up -- you've got that switching watch that Noah gave you, right? You know what you need to do with it?"

"Well, if it's anything like any regular pocketwatch, all you have to do is do this--" Dr. Crou clicked the knob on the silver watch, stopping it.

A small warping noise was heard, and the pocketwatch bursts open, with springs, gears, and hands getting flung out of it. One of the gears lifted itself into the sky, beginning to crank, spinning faster and faster as the hole grew.

A bubble-like swirl appeared in the middle. First a hand reached in, then a shoulder, and finally a full-fledged Noah stepped through, popping the bubble as the gears shrunk back to normal size. "Did ya miss me?"

Dr. Crou chuckled. "Good to see you too, Noah."

"Alrighty, let's get this show on the road." Noah rubbed his hands together. "Did we accomplish what we needed to?"

Odin nodded. "Yeah! That heart is back where it belongs -- and the human doesn't hurt as much anymore," he said proudly.

Noah took out Crou's pocketwatch, handing it to the good sir and placing his hands on Odin’s portal once again. "Alrighty, have either of you consumed the flesh of other beings while you were away?"

"I actually haven't had lunch. Didn't find metaphysical hearts all that appetizing," Dr. Crou said.

Odin shook his head. "We were so busy, we didn't take a lot of time for meals..."

"Well, that's a good thing. As long as you haven't eaten anything meat-wise, your stomachs ought to be fine when going back through. Though, I suppose these rules only apply to Crou."

Noah twisted his hands, repeating the motions of his pocketwatch that got them there. "It's being a little finicky, but it should let you through."

Frigg tilted her head at Noah doubtfully, but said nothing out of deference to the human who had helped Odin.

Noah removed his hands as the shimmer erupted across the portal. He stopped, ready to turn it onto the side when he noticed the audience. "Oh, pardon me; I was so preoccupied, I didn't even say hello!"

With a politely impassive expression, Frigg remained standing with her arms folded, but gave Noah a nod.

Loki raised a hand casually in greeting. "Well met, human. You're name's Noah, I understand?"

"That it is; I see I've had a reputation among you all?"

"Not particularly," Frigg said dispassionately. "You're a human, that's all. I know you helped Odin, but pardon if I don't immediately trust humans I haven't met before."

"Hey now, Frigg..." Odin said with a slight frown.

"Oh, I didn't realize Odin was the more trusting of you... No worries, I wouldn't necessarily trust someone right away whose whole race has animosity towards my own. I don't come from the same world as all of you, so it's hard for me to understand what exactly happens here, but that's all good." Noah gave a bright smile, and spun the gear as fast as he could.

Loki clapped Frigg on the shoulder and said with humor in his voice, "Oh, don't mind her. She's just put out she can't follow Odin back out there."

Frigg glared at him. "Loki!"

"Love the dynamic." Noah tossed Loki a pocketwatch. "Stop it if you ever get stuck in an untimely situation." He looked back at the portal, and then back to Crou. "You two ready?"

"Yup. By the way, didn't know you liked giving out pocketwatches left and right."

Loki held up the watch to his face curiously. "So this... is some sort of time talisman?"

"You could say it's a talisman, I suppose. I only give it out to those I feel may need it someday. I just started finding the parts and being able to fix them in Kinkan just after Lytha's trial... but I only made five, so I'll have to go back home to get materials."

"Mighty generous of you," Loki said, raising his eyebrows with surprise. "Will we need it more than you do?"

"I can always make more." He stepped back from the finished portal.

Dr. Crou looked back at Frigg and Loki, kneeling down to pat both of their heads affectionately. "You guys did great today. Thanks for being great friends to Odin." If you could see a smile on his beak, it was a proud and gentle smile.

Upon the head pat, Frigg's eyes flitted off to the side a little tentatively, with the slightest tinge of red on her cheeks. "...Of course," she mumbled almost shyly.

Loki grinned casually. "It's all in a day's work."

"Speaking of..." Odin said. "Noah, is there any way for my other friends to go through this portal, too?"

"Hmmm... I can certainly try. It's up to the portal whether or not it rejects them, but each of them should try putting a feather in. I haven't closed the opportunity for changes yet. If the feather dissipates, you are all good; if it doesn't, and pops back out, there isn't much of my power left at the moment for me to change it." Noah gave Odin a small pat on the shoulder, and turned to Dr. Crou.

Frigg and Loki looked at each other; then, they both conjured up a feather in each of their hands and released them into the portal. The feathers hovered within the portal, seeming almost stuck in place. They slowly started to dissipate, but only at a snail's pace.

Noah rolled his eyes. "Portals drive me insane."

"Did it work?" Frigg asked.

"Sort of. It'll take forever for the portal to process your entry. It accepts you, but it won't let you in yet." Noah sighed. "It appears you’ll have to visit at a different time. Luckily, you have the ability to do so with that lil watch I gave you."

The two raven children glanced at the watch in Loki's hands. "Right then," Loki said to Noah with a nod, "we'll be counting on it to get us across whenever it decides to be ready."

Frigg briefly gave the portal a dirty look, as if it were purposefully keeping her apart from Odin out of spite. Noah gave a small, joking salute to Loki.

"Better late than never," Odin said with encouragement to his two friends. Then he turned to Dr. Crou. "You ready?"

"Ready when you are."

"Oh, Crou, before you go!" Noah yelled out.

"Hmm?" Dr. Crou asked. "(Are you not coming with?)"

"I just wanna let you know. I won't be back in Kinkan for a while, and there is a possibility of never, since my family's probably pissed at me. I need to get stuff from home if I plan to move to Kinkan... but if I don't come back, I just want to thank you... I know we were never super close, but you are, uh, the closest thing I've had to a father figure in a really long time..."

Odin tilted his head with a frown. "But I've barely gotten to talk with you yet," he said with disappointment. "Try real hard to come back."

Noah smiled. "I will, Odin; even if I have to sneak out, I will."

Dr. Crou was extremely puzzled and saddened at this sudden news. "I...Is everything okay? Will I have to talk to someone?"

Noah gave a small laugh. "Everything's fine -- my parents are generally strict with the family business. But enough dilly-dallying; you two need to get back home!"

Dr. Crou plucked an ash grey feather from his mantle and gives it to Noah. "Here, keep this. It's not fancy like your pocketwatch, but it should be sensitive to magic as I am. It will sway if magic is the wind, and can produce a faint glow that's the same color as the other type of magic."

Teary-eyed, Noah said, "It's... it's wonderful." Noah grasped it lightly as though it might crumble under his touch, and buried his face into Crou's chest for a quick hug, before backing away with a small apology.

Dr. Crou patted Noah's head affectionately. "Come back when you can, okay?"

He simply smiled and nodded, waving _his_ _family_ off.


	64. In Which Natasha Makes a Mirror Call to Her Family

Natasha sat in her hotel room, refreshed from her bath and wearing a new change of clothes.

She started organizing her things on the bed and pulled out a simple mirror from her bag that she used to contact her family and a few friends. She pressed a jewel on the right-hand corner and it lit up, blinking. She waited a bit until a glow formed on the surface.

A voice suddenly could be heard coming from the mirror.

"--urry, it's Natasha!" An older lady's face appeared reflected in the mirror.

"Hi, Mom! How is everyone?" She instinctively waved at the lady.

"Oh, we are doing just fine, dear. Your father was just asking how you were doing." Her mom smiled sweetly. Then a gruff voice was heard in the distance. "Natasha, I hope business is doing well!"

"Ah, about that. I think I might need to put my plans to visit Uncle Irwin in the Fairy Lands on hold. I'm currently in Goldcrowne right now."

Mrs. Gardener (her mom) put a hand to her chest. "Oh my, Goldcrowne?" The gruff voice became clearer and a quiet mustachioed man appears into view. "Goldcrowne? That's a dangerous area, Natasha; are you alright?"

"Yes, Dad. I'm fine for now. It doesn't seem like the Raven is here, but there have been some strange things happening."

"Oh, what sorts of things?" her parents inquired.

"Well, I first need to tell you guys about Evanee..."

And Natasha described the meeting at the cafe with Evanee, of her prophetic powers and lack of caretakers. Natasha omitted the Story Spinning aspect because she didn't want that news to reach her hometown elder's ears.

"Oh dear, that poor, poor girl," Mrs. Gardener said.

"Don't tell me you are planning to stay there to care for her, Natasha?" her father asked.

Natasha nodded. "I fear that nobody is going to do anything about it and will continue to neglect her."

"But what about your dreams, sweetie?"

Natasha gave a bright smile. "Don't worry about it! I have a few clients around here, and I'm pretty sure there are others I can reach out to since this town has been sleeping away from the world for so long."

"Mm, that's my girl," Mr. Gardener said. He then excused himself, saying he was late for a meeting, and he went out of the mirror's view.

"Still -- Natasha, sweetheart, don't be afraid to ask for help, okay? I know we are many forests away, but I can try to send you some things from home," her mother said with concern.

"Not a problem! Hmmm... maybe you can send me some of Miss Bux's candles? I'm running low on them."

Natasha then asked about her siblings, a few of them of whom lived on their own. "You know, Evanee is similar to Cassidy in a way..."

"How so, sweetie?"

"Well, I know they mean well, but they tend to put others above themselves while letting themselves grovel below. Cassidy was like that because of her powers, but for Evanee, it seems like it was because she was abandoned... I wouldn't know what I would do if I was abandoned, Mom."

"Natasha..."

"I guess that's why I can't let her be alone." Natasha gave a soft smile at the mirror. "You, Dad, Hannah, Sofie, Emily, Cassidy, Greta, Lily, and little Jacob. I love you guys. And it's something I would gladly share with her."

Mama Gardener pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. "Natasha, my child..."

"Oh, but maybe not about Samhain. Ugh, you guys are so mean with the spooky stories," Natasha pouted.

"Hahaha, you know how your dad loves to reenact those tales."

"Nope, still hate it. I had to be the poor human because Sofie rigged the straws."

Mrs. Gardener chuckled. "Ufufufu. Oh, Natasha before I forget -- you are in Goldcrowne, right? The elder did mention some unusual magic had been detected around there, so please be careful, okay?"

"Huh... okay, thanks, Mom! Can you ask the elder in more detail when you can? Considering I'll be here for a while."

"Sure thing, sweetie! I'll let you know as soon as I can."

"Thanks! I gotta go now, I'll be waiting for an answer from you. See you later!"

"Bye, sweetie~!"

And with that, Natasha placed down the mirror and looked out the hotel window of the quaint town. She had a feeling that by staying here, many things would happen that she wouldn't be able to fathom. But she also felt it wouldn't be anything she couldn't overcome.


	65. In Which Sagi Meets Natasha

Natasha sat by the window of the quaint café one afternoon, looking over her lists of various clientele and their products. Since she was now going to stay in Goldcrowne to help Evanee, she needed to reorganize future plans.

After some time, she decided to take a break and enjoy a fresh brew of coffee. She called the barista for her order and stared idly around the cafe.

As seemed to be her routine these days, Sagi walked into the cafe with the familiar tinkle of the doorbell. Glancing around, she saw with relief that it was another quiet afternoon. The one customer who caught her eye was...

"Oh," Sagi said with surprise. "I haven't seen them around before." Curiously, she walked to a nearby table and sat down, quietly eying the new visitor.

Natasha noticed the new customer walking in and gave a friendly wave when she noticed them looking at her direction. "Hi there~! I'm Natasha, what's your name?"

Sagi blinked, not expecting the immediate acknowledgment. "Hello," she sad back with a small return wave. "Umm... I'm Sagi. I haven't seen you here before; is this your first time here?"

"Ah, I've been to this café a couple of times already, but only this past week or so. I wasn't expecting to stay in this town for long, but I met someone and decided to help them out. Actually, it was someone who works at this café. If you go here often, maybe you know them?"

Sagi tilted her head slightly. "I might; I've been coming here for a little while. Someone who works here, you say? What's their name?"

"Her name's Evanee. I think she's around your age?"

Sagi's eyes widened. "Oh, I do recognize that name. She's been working here since I first started coming. You're helping her with something, you said?"

"Yes," Natasha nodded. "She seems to be struggling with some personal issues and stress that are a bit too complicated to handle on her own. I fear if nobody reaches out, she will crumble under the pressure." She looked down at her drink in thought, remembering that Evanee had broken down crying when she had first met her.

Sagi paused. "I... admit I don't know much of her troubles in detail, but I've seen how upset they make her. Unfortunately, she hasn't been very forthcoming with them, and I've not been one to pry..."

"Ah, I figured. She only opened up to me because she could barely seem to contain her struggles any longer. Hopefully she can learn to open up to others later... but until then, I'm going to support her as much as I can." Natasha smiled at Sagi, trying to be hopeful. "Enough about that; how are you, Sagi? I see that you are in a school uniform. Do you go to the academy in town?"

Sagi nodded. "Yes. I attend the beginner's ballet division. I've been attending for more than a year now, come to think of it..."

"Oh, the ballet division? Wow, that's amazing! I heard Prince Siegfried, Princess Rue, and Princess Tutu were studying ballet here during the events of the story! Have you ever gotten a chance to meet them?"

"Oh, the prince and princess? Yes, I'm acquainted with them, and have spent some time with them," Sagi nodded. "As for Princess Tutu... well, I know her as Ahiru, and she was the first friend I made when I came to this town."

"What, really?" Natasha's eyes were practically shining. She gathered her things and sat herself directly across from Sagi.

Sagi blinked with startlement, but stayed in her seat without further comment. "Ahiru is a good friend of mine," Sagi continued. "Actually, she was the reason I moved into town, to learn ballet with her."

"Oh wow! You must really like ballet, then?"

Sagi sighed with a small smile. "When I started, it was just something I could do with Ahiru, since that was what she wanted to do. But now, I do like doing it for itself, if only for its relaxing, meditative state."

Natasha nodded in understanding. "That's understandable. It's when a best friend is into something and you do it because they are doing it, too. But that's good that you grew to like it. I haven't thought ballet was relaxing or meditative, to be honest. The dancers make it look so effortless, but it's like an intense sport, right?"

Sagi glanced out the window thoughtfully. "Certainly the advanced dancers are like that, when they perform or compete. But that's not what I like about ballet. What I like is just the quiet moments where you're stretching your limbs to prepare for practice, and learning how to control your movements more. I find walking around as a human second nature to me now--" She blinked, realizing what she let slip. "Umm, I mean... I can walk much more gracefully now! Yes, that's what I meant..."

Natasha didn't catch Sagi's slip up, so she was more confused at Sagi's attempt to cover it up. "Hmmm, it almost sounds like you are describing yoga. I guess ballet can be a meditative practice when you put it that way."

Sagi tilted her head again. "Yoga? Is that some other form of ballet?"

"Hmm? No, it's more of a form of meditative exercise. It has its own belief system of chakras and tapping into that energy when performing each exercise. It sounded like what you were doing with ballet. Maybe you can try it out and see how you like it."

"Hmm," Sagi said, "Perhaps. I'll do some reading on it and see if it interests me. I've never heard of that 'chakra' part before..."

"Some witches follow it, some don't. I didn't study much into it, but a friend of mine did. Something about energies in different parts of your body."

"Witches, you say...?" Sagi asked. "Are you a witch as well? Do you know magic, then?"

"Yup! But my magic is really low level, hahah... I specialize in levitation and trinket crafting."

"Really?" Sagi asked, mildly curious. "That's still impressive to me. The only magic I have is in this pendant," she said, fingering the blue jewel on her collar, "and it's less my magic than magic I'm borrowing from someone else, really."

"Huh, is it okay if I take a closer look?"

"Umm, all right," she said, taking the necklace off and holding it out to her. "But, I need to keep hold of it, so please don't take it out of my hand. It would be... inconvenient," she added with a nervous smile.

"Hmm? Okay, I just want to see it up close." Natasha looked at it and tapped it a few times to understand what it did. "Oh, it's activated right now. And there's lots of water element to this stone... It's a bit old fashioned, but it's a pretty powerful pendant. They usually used it in the olden days for transformation magic."

Natasha pulled back, puzzled at the pendant. She then looked up at the clock and realized the time. "Oh no! I have an appointment in half an hour!"

"Oh, dear! I suppose you'd better leave soon, then," Sagi said with a brief parting nod.

"Sorry about that, Sagi. But I had a great time talking with you! Maybe we can have another chat again." Natasha said, gathering her things as she got up from her seat.

Sagi smiled. "I frequent this cafe these days, so we may catch each other here again sometime soon, I hope."

"Okay! I'll come by the café to see you, then!" Natasha waved goodbye.

She then left the cafe with the door ringing behind her.


	66. In Which Odin is Attacked by Townspeople

In the town of Gold Crown, a blond young man led a group of three other people through the streets -- two adults and another young man his age -- on a mission.

"What was it the twin children said?" the adult woman asked. "That the demonic raven who terrorized this town has returned in the form of a child? A young boy?"

"I need not remind all of you the danger that the demon poses to the town," the adult man said ominously. "It turned us all into monsters like itself and made us into its slaves. We can't possibly leave such a menace alone!"

"That monster killed my sister," said the second young man with brown hair. "I heard her die, screaming in terror! Something like that can't be forgiven!"

"Come now, we march," the blond young man leading them said with a furious look. "We will prevent these atrocities from happening again!"

It was dusk, and the vermilion sun lay low on the horizon. The raven boy Odin was on his way back to his roost from the portal that appeared for him over at the town's cathedral.

Ever since he had healed the soldier's heart, Odin's own heart had felt light and unburdened. For the first time in his recent memory, he felt like the world he lived in wasn't so bad -- and it was all thanks to the friends he had met in this town, as well as the friends dear to him from his own.

It was then, while he wondered idly when the portal would begin to work for his two best friends as well so they would be able to visit this town with him in turn, that he noticed the group of four people coming up behind him.

Suspecting nothing, he turned around and looked at them, noting that they were all staring at him. "Hmm?" he asked. "Who might you all be?"

"There he is!" the adult woman cried out. "The demon child!"

Evanee rushed around town, and had been ever since she had gotten off her shift. She needed to find Lytha -- or Odin, and fast. They needed to know what was happening.

Hearing the woman's tone, Odin immediately went on guard. This was what humans sounded like when they were on the rampage, and this time it was definitely directed against him.

"Don't let him escape!" the adult man yelled.

The four of them rushed at the child, each wielding a shovel, a pitchfork, a broom, and a wheat scythe.

Odin jumped back in alarm, and in a flurry of black feathers he transformed into bird form and began to fly away.

The brown-haired young man holding the shovel ran up and swung it at the black bird, knocking him back onto the ground.

Upon hitting the ground, Odin transformed back into human form in another burst of black feathers, somewhat battered from the impact of the shovel. He tried to clamber back up, but the four taller humans loomed over him menacingly.

With Odin's eyes widening with fear, he shouted up into the air, "My friends! I need your help!!"

And with that, a din of caws from a flock of crows swarmed in from all around them.

Strangely, along with the caws, they could also hear a giggle of... someone unknown. "My... what do we have here? A search for the guilty...? For some mere child, you humans decided to appear in a group... how pathetic. It just shows what is beneath those faces... fear. I do suggest, for your sake, that you flee this instant. Otherwise, there may be... human bloodshed..."

The four people glanced around with bewilderment. "What...? Who goes there?!"

"Oh, but that would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it? Very well, then; if you have decided to stay, it wouldn't matter for you if..."

Suddenly, even more crows, probably hundreds, dive down toward the townspeople, starting to attack them.

Evanee looked at the sky, seeing the swarm of crows near the cathedral. She picked up her pace.

The group of four people, seeing the aerial stampede of ravens, screamed in terror. They turned tail and ran down the street, away from the crows, and away from Odin, who still was struggling to get up from the cobblestone ground.

As Odin stood up shakily, he gazed around him at the countless crows who had come to his aid. It puzzled him; it almost seemed as if someone other than him had called this many crows to help...

A young girl suddenly walked into view, while the crows simply sat down on the nearby rooftops, watching the happenings ever so calmly. That certain young girl had familiar red hair, but also equally crimson-colored eyes. Her outfit resembled Odin's in a way, though more feminine and elegant.

Evanee rushed up to the scene, following the crows as they settled. She saw Odin, and -- was that...?

"I do hope you are alright. Such human beings can be dangerous..." the girl said to Odin.

Odin glanced at the newcomer, and was struck speechless for a moment. It was another human... but a human wearing unmistakeably raven feathers. As if, something about the girl had _become_ a raven in some way. But how...?

"Who...?" Odin asked, mystified. "Who are you? Were you the one who saved me?"

Evanee stayed back. She wasn't sure if she should intervene... she had to tell Odin. But had he been the one to summon the birds?

"Indeed I was. My name is Lilith."

"Lilith..." Odin said, still confused. "Well, thank you for saving me, Lilith. But, uh, how... how did you know I needed help...? Did the other crows tell you, or...?"

"Maybe they did... but, all that mattered now was to get you away from those cruel creatures."

Odin glanced away into the distance, toward the direction where humans who had attacked him had disappeared into. "I don't know why they did it; I had no idea who they were. The humans in this world haven't done things like this before..."

"In days such as these, the only one you can truly trust is yourself. In any case... I suppose I shall leave now."

With that being said, the ravens once again started to fly off as Lilith turned around and disappeared in a flurry of black feathers. The ravens, in turn, took flight into the dusk skies.

"Wait, I--!" Odin said, holding up his hand. But Lilith had already disappeared.

Lytha, who had been following the ravens from a distance, saw Odin and ran up to him. "Odin!"

Odin glanced Lytha's way with surprise. "Lytha!" Though he didn't otherwise show it in his voice, he looked a little roughed up, with some scuffs on his face and a few rips in his feathery clothing.

Lytha placed a hand on Odin's shoulder. "What happened? Are you okay? Were you the one who called the ravens?"

Odin frowned with puzzlement. "Sort of... I called for help when those humans attacked me, but when I did, another human showed up with even more of them. One wearing raven feathers, as if she were like a raven, too..."

"Wait... humans attacked you? And 'she'? Who is this 'she'?"

Odin nodded. "I don't know who they were, but they were really angry and calling me a 'demon child'. Nothing I haven't been called before, though," he added, rolling his eyes. "And the girl... she said her name was 'Lilith'. I didn't know her before, either. Though... I kinda feel like I've seen her somewhere before."

Lytha let go of Odin, saying nothing. _The townspeople know about the Raven? But how...?_

Odin glanced up at her, a little confused at her troubled silence. "I'll be fine, don't worry about it," he said. "The others came and scared them away before they could hurt me that much."

"...Odin... I believe you," Lytha sighed. "But you have to be careful from now on."

Odin tilted his head. "Careful? What do you mean?"

"Please... Odin, just promise me you will be careful, especially around other humans..." _I can't tell him..._

Odin glanced down, troubled. "Nothing like this has happened in this world until now," he said grimly. "I thought the humans here weren't that bad. Why would they suddenly do something like this...?"

"I... don't know."

Marilee was running as fast as she could. The girl had heard Odin had come back. She needed to find him, and fast.

"Odin... remember the outfit I bought for you?"

Odin looked at her. "Yeah, I still have it. Why do you ask?"

"No... it's nothing," Lytha said. "Where have you been all this time, Odin?"

Odin's face couldn't help but light up a little at the recollection. "I was back in my own world, with Dr. Crou and my other friends," he said with a small smile. "There was something that had really been bothering me, and my friends went to help me take care of it. It was really dangerous, but everything turned out for the best in the end."

"That's great," Lytha said. "Sounds like you and Dr. Crou had a great time out there."

Odin hesitated. "I don't know about a _great_ time, since we had to fight in battlefields within a person's heart... but we were able to make him feel better, so I'm really glad we did."

"Speaking of, want me to heal your wounds?" Lytha asked.

Odin glanced at himself, briefly touching his cheek. "Er, I guess I kinda look a little roughed up, huh? You don't have to, but uh..."

"Odin! Lytha!" Evanee ran up to the small crowd, panting wildly. "So they weren't your crows after all."

"Evanee... calm down, take deep breaths..." Lytha patted Evanee's back. "You didn't have to run so fast."

"There are more pressing matters, Lytha -- have you already forgotten what I've told you?"

"...But I didn't say anything."

"I did tell you to stay away, but I'm not surprised you're here. I'm more upset that you _told_ people."

"That wasn't me!" Lytha exclaimed. "I don't know how they knew!"

"Well, that's mighty interesting, considering I only told you. Are you positive you didn't tell _anyone_?"

"I'm positive."

"UGH! I don't understand how it got out! I was at the marketplace, and I heard the butcher speaking with the apple farmer about the rumors..."

"Well, I did talk to Marilee, Lucy, Selene, and Sagi... But they are our close friends -- wait..."

"What?!" Evanee yelled, then sighed. She needed to calm down before she did anything irrational. "Listen, I was wrong, anyway -- you don't have to worry about it anymore, we can still stop it from happening."

Marilee stopped when she saw them and stood there for a moment, before she smiled, seeing that her friend was all right. "Odin!" Marilee yelled before she rushed over and hugged him tightly.

Odin was distracted from Lytha and Evanee's conversation by Marilee's big hug. "Wha--!" Odin said with surprise. "Oh, uh... hi, Marilee," he added.

"You're back! I missed you... ack, sorry, caw!" Marilee stopped hugging Odin and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, didn't mean to make it awkward," she explained. Noticeably, she wasn't wearing her crow hoodie.

Odin looked at Marilee. "Aww, I wasn't gone for that long, was I?" Odin said with a little smirk. Then he noticed the lack of her usual black hoodie. "Hey, you're wearing something different than you usually do today. Did you have to wash it?"

Marilee's smile faltered a little. "Oh... my hoodie... it got, umm, torn up a little. It's okay, though, I'm fixing it!"

Odin furrowed his brow. "It got torn? Did you get hurt or anything?"

Marilee shook her head. "No, I didn't get hurt. I'm fine," she answered.

A large shadow quickly passed over them. A huge crow that was almost the size of a human with a top hat and ash gray breast flew overhead, swooping down near the group. Just as suddenly, the crow turned into Dr. Crou, who rushed over to Odin.

"Dr. Crou!" Odin said.

"Dr. Crou!" Evanee remarked in awe, nearly in unison with Odin.

"Odin! Are you okay?" Dr. Crou asked. "I heard from the local ravens that you were attacked." He quickly looked over the boy to scan his injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry. They saved me before they could hurt me real bad. Just barely some scratches," he added with a carefree grin.

"Dr. Crou!" Lytha exclaimed.

"Does anybody know what happened?" Dr. Crou asked.

"I know why it happened, but not how..." Evanee trailed off.

"Same," Lytha said.

Marilee's eyes went wide. "Did someone attack you?" the girl asked Odin.

"Well, the townspeople tried to attack Odin..." Lytha said.

Dr. Crou crossed his arms. "And why did they attack Odin?" he asked Evanee.

Odin shook his head. "I don't have any idea. I only heard one of them call me a 'demon child', and then they just rushed at me." He sighed. "Can't tell you how many times I've heard that one in my own world..."

"Seems unusual that they would start calling you that here, too... Evanee. Lytha. You two said you know?"

"Dr. Crou, can I talk to you... in private?" Evanee asked.

"Evanee...." Lytha said.

"Lytha... I think he knows. I overheard them one day, and his words are what made the prophecies click." She turned back to Korvus. "Very well... should we all go to my place? It's secluded from the town."

"...I'm sorry..." Lytha said.

"Not now, Lytha. I know you were well-intended," Evanee said.

"Hey, Odin. Want to stay at my place for a while?" Marilee asked Odin.

"Perhaps that may be a good idea. I am a bit wary since I sensed someone else was around him during that time," Dr. Crou said.

"Oh, that's right..." Odin looked at Dr. Crou. "When the other ravens came to help, another human came with them -- one who was wearing raven feathers," Odin said. "She said her name was Lilith. I didn't know her, but she seems kinda familiar somehow."

"Lilith... Not a name I've heard before..." _But that magic I had sensed..._

Dr. Crou looked at Odin, and then back at the others. "Very well. Evanee, I'll talk with you at your place. Marilee, can you take Odin to your place in the meantime?"

Marilee smiled and nodded. "Yep!"

Odin frowned at Dr. Crou with concern. "....Is this something I shouldn't hear for some reason?"

Lytha was silent. "......"

Dr. Crou knelt down to talk to his eye level. "Yeah, it seems like it's something Evanee doesn't want you to hear. I'll see what she means, but in the meantime, keep a lookout for those humans, okay?"

Odin sighed. "Well.... if you say so, Dr. Crou, I trust you," he replied. "I guess I'll be going along with you then, Marilee?"

"Can I follow you, Evanee?" Lytha asked.

"Yes," Evanee replied.

And with that, the two groups split up, with Odin and Marilee heading to Marilee's place, while Dr. Crou, Evanee, and Lytha went to Evanee's.


	67. In Which Evanee Explains Her Prophecies to Dr. Crou

The three arrived at Evanee's home in the forest.

She opened the door to display a disheveled living room. The couch had a pillow and blanket, along with multiple socks at the foot of it. The coffee table and dining table in the corner were riddled with papers. Three burnt-out candlesticks lay on each. Empty glasses and plates were stacked on the side.

"Evanee..." Lytha said.

"I uh, sorry about the mess. It seems the disappearance of my housemate left me to, uh... dive into my research."

Lytha sighed. "You guys go ahead and take a seat; I will, ummm... clean up the place."

"Speaking of, what happened to Noah...?" Lytha asked as she was cleaning up.

" I haven't a clue. I think he was mad that I brushed him off, so he left in a fit," Evanee replied. "Wrong time for him to go AWOL, kinda needed someone to cool me down. Maybe I wouldn't have been so stupid..."

Dr. Crou stepped into the house. "I saw him at the cafe before me and Odin went on the quest," he said. "I asked him to help us before he went back home."

"Before he... what?" Evanee said.

"Home?" Lytha asked.

"Erm, yes. He has family, you know." Dr. Crou looked at them skeptically. "How much do you two know about him?"

Evanee was silent for a moment. "..."

"Not much..." Lytha admitted. She silently put the final stack of papers away and walked to the kitchen.

"...He wouldn't let me ask because I wasn't opening up to him..." Evanee said. "Ugh! He was right. And now he's gone..." Evanee looked up at Crou. "But that doesn't matter right now... What matters is, I think you know what Odin is going to become..."

"Well, at least what he _was_ going to become, from what Autor told me."

"That he'll... the R-Raven, right?"

Lytha came back to the living room and placed the tea on the table, and then took a seat.

"Thank you, Lytha," Evanee put her hands around the cup.

Dr. Crou looked at Lytha and back again at Evanee. "I'm assuming Lytha knows, too?"

"Yes..." Lytha answered.

Evanee nodded. "I made the mistake of tearing her apart by telling her."

"It's not your fault, Evanee," Lytha said.

"(Thank you, Lytha,)" Dr. Crou said, taking a teacup. "Hmph, well not everyone gets to hear that a friend of theirs is going to become The Raven."

Lytha merely sipped on her tea. "......."

"Word got out... I don't know how, I don't know when. I was sure that Lytha was the only one I told, and I don't think anyone would have eavesdropped unless it had been their intention, and they had been well hidden." Evanee continued. "I've recently realized... the prophecy isn't fixed."

Dr. Crou looked at her curiously. "Prophecy?"

"Oh, I suppose I left that out... I have the ability to write out prophecies."

Dr. Crou spluttered his tea a bit at that last part. " _Pfft!_ Wow, I thought you had Spinner powers like Autor or Fakir."

Lytha went to take a towel from the kitchen and cleaned up the tea.

"(Sorry about that, Lytha.)"

"(It's fine.)"

"Well, yes, I do that too, but only a little," Evanee said.

"Hmm... are you sure about that?" Dr. Crou asked. "But that's beside the point -- the prophecies were about Odin, you say?"

"There were a total of four:

" _A heart torn out by a boy of wings, Six points of soul to which they cling. It's those who seek another way, to free dark of night to day. If shadows fall, and demons rise, the trickster of death will find their prize._ "

Lytha was silent as she listened. "......."

Dr. Crou nodded as he listened to the prophecy. " _A heart torn out by a boy of wings..._ sounds like the short story Autor was talking about."

" _Bird to human with a soul and heart, once before, but never apart, the two come together,_ " Evanee went on. "At first I believed that one was about Ahiru, but I haven't encountered any more like it since."

"Ahiru? Ohhh, right. She's an actual duck in this world," Dr. Crou remarked.

"And this..." Evanee flipped the pages of her journal. "Is what caused my suspicion: _'Demon of past, feathers of black. Once loved others, now gone in ash. But like a phoenix will rise reborn, to collect from hearts of those once torn. Beware of him, the child that flies, who’ll bloom and cause a great demise. For one’s past takes place after their present, they’ll regret they ever called him a peasant._ '"

Dr. Crou listened carefully to the prophecy. "I see... definitely does points towards that direction."

Lytha poured them more tea.

"And... " Evanee sighed. "Lastly...' _Finding irony within these words. The devourer of hearts tried to protect one first. And now a veteran of the same flock, telling a fledging of what he once wished to block. A war already battled by many before, that was soon to come for just one more._ ' When I wrote this one, flashes of the Raven were put in my mind... and then I overheard you and Odin talking at the cafe."

"Ah, that day when Apollo was renovating the cafe," Dr. Crou said. "Hmm... If I remember correctly, you were hiding in the back when we were talking." Dr. Crou wondered what she had heard from that conversation...

Evanee nodded. "I guess, what I'm saying is... It's my fault that the villagers are hunting down Odin."

"Wait! It could have been my fault," Lytha said.

"I really thought he was evil, that he was going to turn into the Raven regardless of what we did," Evanee said. "Lytha, I didn't trust your judgment though. I should have considered that you saw good in him, which means it was there. Instead, I assumed the worst."

"You only did that to protect me," Lytha said.

"Not completely, though; I abused our friendship so that you would choose me. I made it so that when or if I started something against him, to prevent... that, you'd be on my side."

"Wait, what?" Dr. Crou said, baffled.

"....Still, no matter what happens, I will be by your side, Evanee," Lytha said.

Dr. Crou coughed. "I very much admire the loyalty and friendship between you two. But Evanee, why didn't you ask Autor or Fakir about this when you put together that Odin could be the Raven?"

Lytha sweatdropped at the thought of telling Autor.

"...I didn't... I didn't feel like I could talk to them. Autor is so distant from me, and I look up to Fakir, I didn't want to reveal such awful news to him, I didn't want him to judge me for it."

"...I suppose so. Considering you didn't know that an older version of Odin had crossed paths with Ahiru and the gang already."

"And I think telling Fakir would have just made him more, ummm... careful of Odin," Lytha added.

"Well, if he wasn't already. Considering that boy is always cautious. Although, Autor was actually the one who told me about Odin's possible fate and he would have agreed with Evanee's prophecies."

"....." Lytha silently sipped her tea again.

"Well, if that's the only thing you wanted to tell me, I'll take my leave. I need to tell Autor and another person the results of our adventure in Odin's world."

Evanee sighed. "I just... I just messed up."

"Hey, it's okay... I'm sure we will get to the bottom of it," Lytha said. "I will go and try to find out where the townsfolk heard about the Odin and the Raven. I will be back."

Evanee nodded. "I'll stay here, do some research, and make sure Odin's safe until things settle down."

"Evanee," Dr. Crou said after Lytha left. He crossed his arms and looked at her sternly. "Yes, you have messed up. If you had talked with the others, you might have found out that they had faced an older Odin before. Not this mess we have right now."

Evanee looked down at her feet. "I... I know, but those four, five including Autor, I just feel like I'm not at the right level to ask for help..."

"Let it be a lesson and a warning then," he said. "Your recklessness has caused more harm than good, despite your intentions. Malicious rumors and terror have opened up this town's old wounds. And just when I thought we had overcome an important hurdle, looks like there is still much more work to do..." Dr. Crou started to mutter to himself near the end.

Evanee looked down at her papers... she hadn't known... How could she have been so stupid? "I understand," she said calmly.

Dr. Crou felt a bit bad, but his focus quickly went back to protecting Odin from the new troubles ahead. He felt she needed a scolding anyways. "If it gives you solace, I'll tell you what we were doing in Odin's world."

"I don't want to invade. What you did seemed to be a personal and private matter, and I don't want to overstep any boundaries with Odin, especially after I caused all this pain."

"Hmph, don't assume so quickly. It pertains to the events of the prophecy, after all," Dr. Crou said. "I'll tell you that we went to cleanse the heart that was supposed to turn Odin into the Raven, which was successful, as you can see. You are the first to know about this."

"The... The same heart as the prophecies?"

"Yes," he replied curtly.

Dr. Crou stood up from his seat and made his way to the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, Autor will definitely want to hear a detailed report about it."

Evanee stood. "Yes, of course. " She was about to open the door when knocking came from the other side. "...Who is it?" she called out.

"Sister Evanee..." the voices of the twins sounded from behind the door.

"Ah..." Evanee opened the door. "Lisa, Liam. If you're looking for your sister, I'm afraid you just missed her."

Dr. Crou excused himself and went back to the town, shifting into his crow form and taking to the skies.

"...We are looking for Brother Odin," Liam said.

"He is not here, nor will he be anytime soon," Evanee replied.

"We want to say sorry," Lisa said as the twins started tearing up.

"Sorry...?"

"We overheard your talk with Sissy that day about Brother Odin and the Raven..."

"You... over...?"

The twins nodded their heads. "We were the ones who told the townspeople."

"...Please leave."

The twins bowed their heads. "We are sorry," they said, before running back home.

Evanee looked around at the room, closing the door behind her.

Soon afterward, Lytha knocked on the door. "Evanee? I saw the twins just now... did something happen?"

She could feel the hot tears forming on her face. With a shrill of anger, she yelled out, slamming her arms into the coffee table. Evanee took a glass from the counter and threw it at the adjacent wall. She didn't even hear Lytha when she punched the wall, the rotted wood caving in at the impact. Evanee screamed out again, with nothing to prevent what was bursting out inside of her.

"Evanee!" Lytha opened the door.

"Leave me alone, leave me alone!" She slammed the back of her head against the wall and slid down.

Lytha saw the broken glass and Evanee crying. She ran up to her. "Evanee! What happened?"

"I wanna be alone."

"I'm not leaving you alone," Lytha said. "I'm not leaving my best friend crying."

Evanee stayed silent. She didn't want to talk. Lytha simply sat beside Evanee, not saying anything.

The two of them remained there silently for a long time.


	68. In Which Odin Makes Marilee a New Hoodie

After walking for some time, Marilee and Odin arrived at Marilee's place. The last time he had been here, he had been helping Marilee bake a cake, so it was a change to come to her place with no particular activity in mind.

Odin glanced around her apartment for a few moments, and then looked back at Marilee. "Well... what do you wanna do now?" he asked. "Seeing as, I guess I shouldn't head back home just yet..."

The ravenette thought for a moment before smiling "I'll start setting up your bed. Help yourself to anything in the fridge in the meantime!" Marilee said with a smile, before she went to get some blankets. Nearby, a familiar hoodie was sitting on a chair in tatters, though clearly an attempt was being made to repair it.

Before Marilee could get too far, Odin held up a hand. "I like sleeping while roosting, so I just need like a branch or something to perch on," he said. "Blankets are warm, but kinda feel heavy to sleep under..."

"Oh! Um..." Marilee quickly looked around before spotting one of her little trinkets. It was a figurine of a cherry blossom tree. She picked it up and sets it down. "Tada, it has a lot of branches to choose from!"

Odin blinked at it with curiosity, bending down to look at it with interest. "Huh, an artificial tree?" he said, tapping it briefly. "Interesting, I've not seen something like that before. It'll be perfect," he nodded with a small grin as he stood back up.

After he stood back up, he glanced across the room, and noticed the black hoodie that Marilee normally wore, but heavily damaged. "Hey, wait," Odin said, looking the direction of the hoodie. "Isn't that over there... your usual clothing? It looks like something happened to it..."

The girl smile's faltered a bit. "Oh... I kinda got into a fight... and my hoodie took the brunt of it..."

Odin walked over to it, furrowing a brow. "Must've been some fight," he said, with a hint of admiration in his voice. "It certainly protected you well."

He paused as he stood over it. "But... human clothing doesn't grow back like feathers, do they?" he said, frowning. "So... it's not going to fix itself, is it?"

"Well, no. I've been trying to sew it back together! It's a long process, but I'll have it back to the way it was in no time!"

Odin looked thoughtful. "Hmm... but that's gonna be a while, isn't it? So in the meanwhile, you can't wear it anymore..."

He put a hand to his chin, pondering something. Then, after a moment, his eyes lit up. "Hey, I have an idea! If you can't replace your own feathers easily, then I could conjure up some for you instead," he said, grinning. "It's basically just a set of spare feathers. I could make another piece of raven clothing for you in no time!"

"Ah, really? You can do that?"

Odin put his hands behind his head with a casual grin. "I mean, I wear something like this every day, don't I? Conjuring up feathers is as easy as breathing!" He considered Marilee for a moment. "And I think you're about the same size as I am, so it'd be really easy for me to make something that would fit you."

The ravenette smiled and nodded her head. She was quite excited.

Odin stepped back and looked at Marilee, holding out his hands at various angles, as if he were sizing things up. After several moments of this, he nodded to himself, and then threw his hands out in front of him. In a swift flurry of raven feathers, black downy garments appeared from his hands. He caught them deftly, and looked them over.

"Alright, that really wasn't hard at all!" Odin said with a proud grin, holding them out to her. "Here, go try them on -- I wanted to make sure they were comfortable, so it might not offer that much protection from harm or anything, but at least it'll be soft and warm." He held up a finger. "And I made sure there was a hood on it too, don't worry."

The girl watched with eyes full of amazement when he made the garment with the feathers. Marilee smiled as she gently took it and tried it on. It fit just right and it felt so warm and soft. Marilee felt tears forming. "This is... this is really nice. Thank you so much, Odin."

Odin beamed with satisfaction. "It was no trouble at all! And hey, from here on out you've got genuine raven feathers to wear around," he said, gesturing to the clothes on himself. "We're really birds of a feather now, heheh!" he added with a happy chuckle.

Odin couldn't help but be pleased with himself. Even if Marilee wasn't actually a raven, he admitted he was happy to see her looking more like one -- if only to feel just a little bit closer to her.


	69. In Which Lucy and Selene Talk About the Raven Girl

It had been some time since the prince incident had happened. After having not visited the café for a while, Selene walked in and sat down on a seat.

She had recently heard new rumors. Aside from Odin being the Raven, which she knew already, but still doubted, there was also a rumor of a raven girl now. Someone who had helped the quote-un-quote "demon child". But to her, this all just didn't make sense. It was, in the worst case, a witch hunt against someone whose true intentions no one knew.

 _Some people are just blinded by feelings of vengeance,_ she thought. She reassured herself that all these misunderstandings would be cleared up at some point... hopefully.

After some time, a familiar face entered the café. Lucy looked at the seats and instantly spotted Selene.

"Oh -- Lucy!" Selene exclaimed, surprised.

"Oh? Hello, Selene," Lucy replied. She sat down as well.

"I thought you wouldn't come here for a while, after what had happened..."

"I did not plan to, but I thought it would be... quite nice to visit this place again."

"After all, you did hide for quite some time, needing alone time and all..." Selene trailed off.

"Well, I still need some, but for now, I am good," Lucy said.

"That is a relief to hear. You know, I was worried about you. This has been unusual..."

"Well? And I did say I was fine," Lucy replied. "Looks like you're worrying a bit too much."

"Hehe, I guess so," Selene chuckled. "Either way, have you heard these new rumors going around?

"What kind of rumors?" Lucy asked.

"The little boy, that Odin... according to Lytha, he is--"

"I know. I heard that myself..." Lucy said.

"But that other rumor may be something new. Recently, a group of townspeople had heard a female voice speaking to them, threatening them, and then... a swarm of ravens had attacked them after they gathered before. That is why these people treat that 'voice' as some kind of raven girl."

"Raven...girl?" Lucy asked. "Hmm... I did hear something from Lytha recently, that there was some kind of raven girl. The royal princess apparently used to be one," she whispered.

"Sure about that? I do not want to believe these rumors. Considering, as you may know by now, that the raven did terrify me when he appeared." Selene sighed. "I really doubt that such a little boy could become what thousands of people might fear. And that raven girl... maybe these townspeople aren't really over about what happened in the past. Maybe they have grown paranoid, even. I mean, who wouldn't have? The Raven did some devastating damage, after all."

"Who knows what is true or not. I do not know about the raven thing, but about that girl... yes, it is probably just some nonsense. I don't think that the princess would actually become... I think, 'Kraehe' was it. It wouldn't make sense. The Raven is dead, after all." Lucy paused. "Or, at least, was dead...?"

"Agreed. You cannot trust just anybody's words these days," Selene said.

"Indeed."

"Well, except our friends, of course. Even if I am a bit skeptical about Evanee."

"What about her are you skeptical about?" Lucy asked.

"...Never mind."

"Alright...?"

Selene looked at Lucy. "Say, what is up with your eyes? Why are they... kinda red?"

"Wish I could answer that question," Lucy replied. "But I do feel fine, so it is not an illness or anything."

"Okay, if you say so..." Selene said, pausing. "Remember Prince Alex?"

"God. Don't remind me of that idiot," Lucy scoffed. "If Lytha had not cast her magic, I would have done something I would have regretted. Thankfully and luckily for him, it did not come to that."

"He is at least out of our sight now. The town sees him as the weak boy he is and he will sit in jail for 50 years. Serves him right."

"I guess you are right about that."

Selene sighed with relief. "I am happy that I was wrong. You are very well fine. Forgive me for being worried..."

"It is just normal. Who wouldn't be worried about their friends?" Lucy remarked. But she thought, _If you only knew, Selene..._

Selene checked the clock. "OH SH--I gotta get home, quickly. It was nice talking to you again, Lucy."

"It sure was. Why do you need to go?"

"I promised my mother that I would be home earlier, for we were planning something."

"Alright -- then I won't stop you," Lucy said. "But first..."

She walked to Selene and gave her a hug. "Happy belated birthday. Sorry that I couldn't be there."

"Hey, it's fine. It was not much of a party, anyways."

Lucy let go of Selene and nodded.

"See you later, then!" Selene said, waving goodbye to Lucy. Lucy waved back.

After Selene had left, Lucy sighed and sat down again, thinking.

She remembered a time when foreign emotions started to surface within her, emotions that were not her own. And after that, all she could remember was returning to the dorms and being tired. She could not recall exactly what had happened that evening, but was sure that it had been far from normal.


	70. In Which Fakir Discovers the Raven Rumors

Fakir sat in the Kinkan school library, poring over what were for once not old storybooks, but newspapers of varying ages.

He wasn't sure when it was that Drosselmeyer had stopped appearing in Kinkan, as he tended to pop in and out as he pleased, so no one really knew where he was at any given time. But in any case, at some point after Drosselmeyer had gotten locked out of the Loophole in Time, they had stopped seeing any trace of him.

Normally that wouldn't have been anything to worry about, no more than being worried about an annoying neighbor being absent for an extended time. But recent matters called that lack of worry into question, from the flare-up of his cousin's powers, to the presence of people from other dimensions seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He knew about the crow man who they had casually seen simply serving tables at that cafe, who had even known alternate versions of him and all of his friends. It all just seemed too strange not to look into.

Unfortunately, the local news had said nothing of any sightings of Drosselmeyer, nor of any other odd occurrences that might have given him some leads. And with Rue and Mytho having been wrapped up in the mess a certain foreign prince had caused a while ago, most of his friends had more pressing matters to attend to.

But then, he saw in the corner of a section reserved for rumors and gossip an article whispering of a 'demon child' wandering the streets of Kinkan, one who 'consorted with ravens' and wore black feathers like one.

Fakir stopped. _It couldn't be....? That kid I had seen back during Evanee's first major incident..._

He admitted, he had gone out of his way to avoid even thinking about that boy, and seeing as how he otherwise had heard nothing about him from the general populace, it was easy to forget about him and focus on investigating these other odd circumstances. Now that he had literally appeared in the news, though...

Fakir sighed curtly. He actually wished he _didn't_ recognize that boy from anywhere, and not have to grapple with the knowledge of how he was connected with them all. The irony of dealing with the child self of the being who had murdered his parents when he himself had been a child was a bit too much, even for him. At this point, though, it seemed he didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

With frustrated hesitance, he stood up and headed for the library exit, intending to tell Ahiru first of his recent findings.


	71. In Which Dr. Crou Informs Sagi About Odin's Situation

Dr. Crou walked down the cobblestone road with the previous day's events still lingering in the back of his mind. Odin was attacked by some townspeople, and they had somehow known he was going to become the Raven. Whether it was directly because of Evanee and/or her prophecies didn't matter anymore, because the damage was done. The town was scared from old trauma and it wouldn't be easy to calm it down.

The doctor heard the trickling of water and realized he was at a bridge. It was the same bridge the girl Sagi had pondered at some time before.

He stepped near the railing, staring intently at the water below. He did find it mesmerizing, finding himself trying to make sense of what to do next. He had just finished the quest in helping Odin _not_ eat the heart and turn into the Raven, according to Autor's account on how it came to be. So now, everything forward was something new and uncertain...

And on this particular day, Sagi herself was out on a meditative walk as well, finding herself drawn to the prodding bridge like she had before. By some strange coincidence, she saw a familiar avian-headed man standing by the bridge, not too far from where she had been standing the first time she had met him in earnest.

"Oh, Dr. Crou," Sagi said as she approached. "I hadn't thought I'd see you here again so soon. I hope you've been doing well?"

"Hm? Oh, hello there Sagi," the doctor turned towards her. "I have had my share of ups and downs. But I am glad to have met you here today."

Sagi blinked. "You don't say? Is there something you were seeking me for?"

Dr. Crou nodded. "I wanted to let you know that after our meeting, I decided to visit Autor to ask about Odin's story. When we first met, Odin had told me that a human said that he came from a story, and I thought it was a wise choice to go ask Autor for answers."

Sagi's eyes widened. "You asked Autor about...?" She thought about this for a moment. "...How much did he tell you?" she asked soberly.

"About the short story and the unwritten tale," he said with all seriousness. "So I know about the heart Odin took and the possible outcome."

Sagi's eyes lowered. "Then... you know. About one future that looms ahead of him."

"Yes. But the good news is that we were able to overcome the dilemma of the heart."

Sagi glanced up at him, surprised. "You were... able to overcome it? What do you mean?"

"The two of us were able to travel to his world -- with Noah's help -- and met with his friends Frigg and Loki. From there, we found someone who taught Odin on how to enter a Heart's World and guided us on how to cleanse it. We couldn't cleanse the soldier's heart completely, but he was able to regain his will to live again."

Sagi blinked, holding her hand to her mouth with amazement. "So, then, the heart that he might have consumed... he returned it to its owner, and neither Odin nor the soldier worse for the wear?"

"Yes indeed," Dr. Crou nodded. "The battle in the heart was pretty difficult, but I would say Odin and his two friends did their best to fend the heart's shadows off. The soldier was very grateful to have his heart back a bit better than before."

Sagi clasped her hands together hopefully. "How... how was Odin afterward? Was he... all right?"

"Oh, the kid was beaming afterwards. He felt really glad that he didn't need to hide the heart from the roost anymore."

Upon hearing of Odin's happiness, Sagi couldn't help but smile as well. "I'm so glad to hear that -- I may not be able to express how much relief this gives me, but know that I couldn't be happier for the child right now. I'm so glad for him..." She glanced off into the distance wistfully. "Perhaps this is the turn in the tide he needed..."

If it could be seen on his face, Dr. Crou would be smiling. "I was overjoyed too, thinking we had overcome a great hurdle. But right now, it seems there is some trouble within Goldcrowne..."

Sagi looked back at Dr. Crou with concern. "Trouble? Is it to do with Odin somehow?"

"Yes; apparently a rumor got out that Odin is a demon child or a reincarnation of the Raven. I don't believe she maliciously spread the rumor around; however, it seems like someone had overheard Evanee discuss her prophecies of Odin being the Raven. It seemed to spread pretty quickly, for it escalated just recently, and Odin was attacked by a handful of townspeople...along with the appearance of a raven-like human named Lilith."

The alarm in Sagi's face quickly grew after Dr. Crou began describing the rumors. "Oh no...!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together anxiously. "If they found out -- and he was attacked?! I--oh no, is he--is Odin all right? Is he hurt?!"

"No, no, he's alright. He was saved by the Lilith being and got away with only minor scratches. I made sure of it myself. He's not in immediate danger right now, but Goldcrowne might not be safe for him if this continues unresolved."

Sagi's alarm abated only somewhat. "I... I'm relieved to hear that he's all right, but..." Her brow creased. "I too would fear for his safety from here on out. I'm thankful that this Lilith person saved him, even if I don't know who she is, but who's to say this won't happen again...?"

"That is true. And also, I am wary of this Lilith person. I wasn't there when it happened, but I was able to sense someone near Odin during that time, and it made me uneasy. That's why I would like to ask you for help when the time comes."

Sagi tilted her head slightly. "My help...? I'd be more than willing to help any way I could, but you seem to have something specific in mind."

"If you can help in other ways, that would be appreciated. But for now, if another attack happens and it becomes more difficult to move about within the town, I would like you to come to our aid or help him hide until he can get to safety."

Sagi nodded. "Of course I would," Sagi said. "I'm staying at the Kinkan academy dorms right now, so it might be difficult for him to get to my room without being seen, but I'm sure I could make something work out." She paused. "I suppose he'll be safest back home for now, so it would be harder for him to visit this town at a whim... though, I'm sure he wouldn't care much for curfews," she said with a nervous chuckle. "If I could watch over him at every moment, I would, but..."

"Thank you," Dr. Crou said. "I don't think Odin would like anybody watching over him every moment. Not even me," he added also with a chuckle. "I'm glad we were able to meet here, Sagi, and talk about this. Having this conversation back at the café would have been too risky. "

Sagi nodded pensively. "It seems we'll have to tread carefully with matters regarding Odin from now on, as much as I wish it weren't so," she said with a sad expression. "If only that child could simply be who he is, without all this strife to burden him so..."

"Yes, I wish that for him also. But for now, we can only wonder what the future may hold for him and do our best when the time comes," Dr. Crou replied. "Thank you again, Sagi. I need to get going now. I had just finished talking with Autor about our adventure, and it reminded me that there are some things I must do."

With that, Sagi bid the doctor farewell, and headed back for her dorm room, unsure whether she felt better or worse regarding Odin's situation. But ultimately, she was glad that at the very least, Odin's dark future was much more distant and uncertain than it had been before.


	72. In Which Sagi and Odin Talk With Lucy

Sagi was headed toward the cafe one afternoon, and around a block away from the entrance, she noticed a familiar little black fledgling flying surreptitiously across the building rooftops. Her eyes widened. "Odin? Is that you?"

Hearing his name, the little bird paused and looked Sagi's way from atop an adjacent building. "Oh, Sagi, you're here. On your way to the cafe too, I suppose?"

Sagi nodded, worry growing on her face. "I haven't seen you for a while; from what I heard Dr. Crou tell me, you were recently attacked by some townspeople, though he said you weren't really hurt."

Odin flew down from the rooftop and landed on Sagi's shoulder. "Yeah, he's right, I wasn't," he replied. "I still can't figure out why it happened, though, but--"

Suddenly, Sagi heard voices coming from around the corner.

"Oh no, someone's coming!" she exclaimed, grabbing Odin from her shoulder and holding him close to her chest, as if to cover him from sight.

"Wha--!" Odin was even more taken aback by this action, almost feeling smothered in Sagi's school uniform jacket.

Sagi glanced behind her, and saw a small group of civilians walking across the block. They soon turned a corner and went out of sight, though, and when they had, Sagi relaxed and loosened her grip on Odin. "I'm sorry about that," Sagi said sheepishly. "I just didn't want them to see you, in case they were..."

Odin flapped out of her hands and back onto Sagi's shoulder, straightening out his feathers. "No, it's not your fault," Odin said glumly. "You were just trying to protect me." He sighed. "I'm more irritated that I have to go sneaking around like this. I mean, sometimes that kinda thing is fun, but not when you have to do it all the time!"

Sagi glanced around her. "Let's get over to the cafe so we can relax and not have to worry about that for a while."

"Yeah, let's," Odin said with mild frustration.

With that, Sagi walked with Odin the rest of the way to the cafe, and they soon reached the entrance. Upon reaching the entrance, as Sagi opened the door, Odin flew off her shoulder and resumed human form beside her with a flurry of feathers.

Sagi walked into the cafe, seeing that it was once again a quiet afternoon, without being too crowded. She glanced around, seeing if there was anyone she knew visiting at the moment. And, so it was that Lucy was sitting at one of the tables, seemingly thinking about something.

Sagi spotted Lucy, and tilting her head slightly, approached her, with Odin trailing nonchalantly behind. "Oh, good afternoon, Lucy," Sagi said. "It's been a little while. How are you doing?"

"Hello, Sagi. I am doing good; how about you?"

"All right, I suppose..." Sagi said a little quietly, before glancing back at Odin. "Shall we sit here with Lucy?"

"I definitely would not have anything against it," Lucy said.

Odin shrugged. "Yeah, sure..." he said, before glancing at Lucy and trailing off. He blinked, staring at Lucy for a moment. "...Hey, we've met before, right?" Odin asked, furrowing his brow. "I think I saw you at the cafe before, for a little bit at least..." Though he didn't say anything else, he sounded as if he felt like that wasn't the only time they had met...

"I do not know for certain, but it is indeed possible we've met before." Somehow, she felt like Odin was familiar to her as well.

Glancing between the two with puzzlement, Sagi sat down alongside Odin. "Yes, I believe both of you were there when that incident with Evanee happened here at the cafe -- though, you mostly know from what I told you," she admitted to Lucy. "It seems a lot has happened since then..." Sagi glanced at Lucy, trailing off.

"Indeed, there had been a lot. Both bad and good, alongside with some new rumors going around in the town..."

Odin sighed. "Yeah, like me getting attacked by some crazy humans," he added. "I still don't know what that was all about." He looked sidelong. "But if it weren't for that, I wouldn't be sneaking around town like I am right now. Which is a real pain in the tail, if you ask me," Odin said more lightly, trying not to seem upset.

"Why were you attacked?" Lucy asked.

Odin shook his head, throwing his hands up in an exasperated shrug. "I dunno! They were calling me a 'demon child' or whatever -- something that humans might call a raven child like me back home sometimes," he added a little more darkly. He pursed his lips, looking disappointed. "But that's home, and this happened here. So I really don't know why."

Sagi had been looking at Lucy for a little while, and noticed something. "Lucy... were your eyes always magenta-colored? I thought they were something like blue-gray..."

"I am not sure... a few things have been very strange for me recently, to be honest." She looked at Odin. "Demon child, huh...? I did hear a rumor about some kind of demon child, but... I don't know, I am skeptical. I don't think you did anything bad, so I am curious of why the townspeople think that way. Either way, that is not the only rumor I have heard."

"What other rumor are you talking about?" Sagi asked.

"Selene told me that rumor says there is some kind of raven girl within this town. Apparently, when they were 'hunting down the demon child', a female voice had threatened them. I do not know if it was a misunderstanding, but that voice apparently also commanded a murder of ravens to attack." Lucy turned to the raven boy. "Say, Odin... since I assume you were the one attacked, did you see what, or who it was?"

Odin blinked, looking at Lucy again more closely. "....It was... a girl named Lilith," he said slowly. "And she... was a human, wearing raven feathers, and who had red hair, and--"

Suddenly he stood straight up, eyes wide, his hands thudding against the table in shock. "Wait! You're--are you Lilith?! But...!"

Lucy was suddenly hit by confusion. "Huh? What do you mean, I...I did not...are you maybe confusing me for somebody else?"

Odin stood there, blinking with bewilderment. "I... I dunno, maybe I'm mistaken. But I was just thinking, you looked a lot like her. And somehow... you remind me of her, at least a little..."

Sagi gasped. "Odin, are you saying that Lucy might be the Lilith that Dr. Crou had mentioned Odin meeting, who saved him when he got attacked?"

Odin looked at Sagi, frowning with confusion. "But... I don't... for one thing, she's not wearing raven feathers right now," he said, gesturing toward Lucy. "And she doesn't feel like exactly the same person..." he added, looking back at Lucy. "You don't remember doing anything like that?"

"I certainly do not. But, to be honest with you, there is a day I do barely remember. It was very recently, even..." Lucy said. "But then again, I doubt I could have done something like this. It's...it's just not possible."

Odin paused, and then sat down quietly. "Well, if you say so... then, it was someone that looked like you. A human, wearing raven feathers, and feeling like something about her _was_ a raven..." He frowned. "Though, something seemed off..."

"Someone like me, with raven feathers... considering it seems she did protect you, do you think she may be an ally, or rather an enemy?"

"I mean, to me she seems to be an ally, at least," Odin said. "To some of the humans in this town, though..." He sighed indignantly. "I mean, if she's the enemy of those crazy humans, I'm not going to argue, but..." He paused. "I don't know what her actual motives are, honestly."

"At times like these, you can only trust yourself... or the ones close to you. Even if you do not know what her motives are, you can be at least sure that she does not see you as an enemy, considering you are both ravens. Or at least, Lilith is somewhat of a raven. Birds of a feather flock together, nonetheless."

Odin looked at Lucy again. "Oddly enough, that's something like what Lilith said to me before she left... that I could only trust myself."

"Very odd, but it is somewhat true, I suppose."

Odin was silent for a moment, unsure of what to make if it.

Sagi looked pensive. "Well, I suppose we won't really know unless we meet or hear of her again," she said.

"Whenever that will be. But...aside from the rumors, the people had no proof that you may be who they claim you to be, right?"

Odin looked at her quizzically. "Claim me to be...? You mean, a demon child? I mean... of course I'm not, right? That's just what they call ravens when they hate them..."

"I thought so. It's just... many humans are indeed terrible creatures. They ignore if they are right or not, and are blinded by their own paranoia."

Odin paused. "I remember hearing something about ravens having attacked this town at one point. Maybe it has to do with that."

Sagi looked at Odin with worried silence. _He doesn't know... and I don't know if anyone should tell him._

"That may be true, but it still doesn't give them the right to hurt someone they do not really know," she said, letting out a slight smirk.

"That's true, but..." Sagi looked at Lucy, frowning with concern. "You sound... bitter about it, somehow."

"Maybe I do. Humans are able to do worse things than ravens in general, and yet they call them out for something one of them may have done, which once again, they cannot prove. It is simply not fair," she said, more serious this time. In addition to that, her eyes started to glow red...

Sagi's brow furrowed. "Are you all right, Lucy?"

Odin looked over at Lucy with puzzlement, feeling something strangely menacing in the air.

"I... am alright. I just... drifted off a bit, that is all..." But Lucy's thoughts assured her she wasn't alright. Not at all. Despite all this, she tried to calm down.

Sagi was silent for a moment. "Is... is there anything I can do for you, Lucy?" she asked. "I know I've said that before, but... if you're having trouble somehow, I'd want to know if there's a way I can help."

Suddenly Sagi remembered the way she had gotten when the Agony shard had started to really wear her down. She hadn't sounded too dissimilar from how Lucy had been just now... This of course did not allay her worry for Lucy one bit.

"I don't think there may be a way to help me. This is something I need to figure out on my own..."

Sagi sighed. Unlike that time, there wasn't anything tangible causing this problem, so she couldn't exactly do the same thing he had done here. "All right... but, if you find yourself wanting to do something drastic, please consider it carefully before you take action. Otherwise, you might do something you regret, but can't take back."

Odin pursed his lips, clearly looking like he wished he knew what was going on, but he said nothing, having nothing of significance to say about it.

"I will keep this in mind... hopefully." Her eyes eventually stopped glowing as she calmed down.

Suddenly, Lucy stood up. "I am sorry, but... I will have to leave for now..."

Sagi blinked. "I... I see... I hope you are all right."

"I am, I promise... either way, I will see both of you later."

And with these words, Lucy talked out of the café, quietly saying to herself:

" _I hope I am..._ "


	73. In Which Lucy Reflects on Odin's Words

Lucy had returned to her dorm room, completely quiet. She closed the door and sat down on her bed.

Even if she had calmed down, she just couldn't forget what Odin said. A raven girl, and Lucy looked like her.

She desperately wanted to believe all of this is a coincidence, a mere misunderstanding. But these words seemed familiar, as if she did experience something of that sort. Suddenly, in an instant shock, she remembered.

Recently, the people were hunting Odin. That was when Lucy felt emotions she was sure were not her own. She disappeared in a feather storm, and after that, she remembered threatening the townspeople... in addition to that, a murder of ravens had attacked the people. It all made sense to her now. And the result had not been pretty.

She was Lilith. She was in disbelief, but it must be right. There was simply no other way.

How? Why?

She couldn't be sad about this; she knew nothing was alright with her once she had that lashout, and she was painfully shocked. She wanted to break down. But she just couldn't.

Yet... she also felt relief. Of finally finding out what was going on. Even if she was Lilith, she couldn't stop now.

It would happen again, she knew it. But even then, she had to carry on. She did not come this way to give up now.

All she could hope is that she wouldn't hurt the ones she trusted in.


	74. In Which Takako Ponders the Story Again

Again, the fortuneteller Takako sat back in her chair, pondering the events she had seen thus far.

"Oh, where will this story go next?" she asked no one in particular. "How strange that once Drosselmeyer is out of the picture, that the story starts turning in ways I can't even predict most of the time."

She sighed. "Though, I must admit I saw that attack coming from quite far away; in a way, it was inevitable from the events leading up to it. But what I hadn't anticipated at first..."

Takako recalled a certain red-haired raven girl who had appeared in the nick of time. "That was quite a surprise, I had to admit. Now that it's happened, what next? It didn't take long for her to realize what must be happening. But will foreknowledge affect what might happen from here on out...?"

Takako took a deep, satisfied breath. "Well, as always... we will simply have to see what happens next," she said with a mysterious grin.


	75. In Which Noah Lets Frigg and Loki Through Odin's Portal

"What are you doing?" Lucille stood in the doorway of Noah’s room, watching as the boy oscillated between his bookshelf and the valise on his bed.

"Packing."

"For what? You just got back!"

"And now I'm going back to Kinkan," Noah replied.

"Wait--" Lucille was about to protest when Noah began muttering to himself.

"Alchemy, Wiccan practices, where's my book on verbal spells and enchantment..."

"Okay, Noah, just chill for a second," Lucille said.

"I'm not in the mood for a lecture, Luce."

"And I'M not here for that, Noah."

Confused, Noah turned around to see Lucille in her chemise and corset.

She frowned. "How the hell was I supposed to tighten this thing while you were gone? I had to have Firas do it and everything!"

"... It’s really not that hard." Noah sighed and turned Lucille around, tugging at the strings until each grommet was close to its twin on the other side. He spun her back around and kneeled to tie the strings in the front. "Did you have the bustle fixed?"

"Yes sir, let me go get it."

He watched her depart his room, then turned to the window to gaze upon the people outside, looking for any possible sign of trouble.

Across the street, the boys were building up what would soon be a library, and later repurposed into a real estate office. He watched the people pass by, one in every ten giving the shop a second glance. Most creatures knew about the shop of magic ailments, and since the boundaries Firas set made humans rarely notice the building, anyone who as much as looked at it was a magical creature.

"Can you put the skirt over now?" Lucille had already adjusted the bustle and put on her upper outer garments, but she held out her skirts for Noah to do, claiming her arms weren't long enough.

Noah had just finished adjusting Lucille's dress when he felt something strange...

~~~~~~~~~

Back in the realm of fairy tales, Loki and Frigg did their usual check at the portal through which Odin had left for the other world. It was a routine of, stop by every so often during the day and tap it, and up until then they passed through it without event.

But this time, something looked different about the portal. The two looked at each other.

"Could it be...?" Frigg said.

"Well, let's try that watch the human gave us and see." With that, Loki pressed the dial on the pocket watch and waited, observing it in his hand and looking at the portal.

~~~~~~~~~

Noah looked over at Lucille. "Scuse me for a second."

"You're wack," she said.

Noah opened the face of his watch, drawing a circle in the air until he could see the scene in front of him. Yes, it was Odin's two friends, standing in front of a portal.

"Boy, what are you--"

Noah stepped through the portal, the strain on his magic quite clear, as it felt as though he was moving through molasses. "Hey! You two!"

~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, that sounds like him," Loki said, hearing a voice from the portal. "Oy, Noah! That's you, right?"

"Yeah, looks like the portal is malleable! I can shift it from here, I just need you to throw one of your feathers in, and I'll take care of the rest," Noah yelled back, ignoring Lucille's glare of annoyance.

"Again?" Loki asked, a little puzzled. "Uh, okay then." He quickly flicked a small feather that appeared from one of his hands into the portal.

"Oh, instant acceptance! Looks like your ticket to ride is ready. All aboard to Kinkan!" Noah turned the gear from his place.

"So, we can use it now?" Frigg asked, suddenly intent. She promptly stepped toward the portal and reached out toward it, seeing that it no longer ignored her presence and instead was responding to her touch. "It seems to be working..." she said, her eyes widening.

Loki grinned. "Yep, and isn't that great? You're gonna be the first to get to Odin!" Before she could respond, he playfully pushed her toward the portal, causing her to stumble toward it and disappear into the otherworldly disturbance.

"Loki, you--!" Her response was cut off as she fell into it.

Loki clicked his tongue for a moment, and then said, "Well, then! Here's an allie-oop!" before leaping into it after her.

~~~~~~~~~

Noah smiled, closing the portal and turning back to Lucille.

The same emotion was not reflected on Lucille's face as her eyes watered.

"Luce? What's wrong?" Noah asked.

"You... you're really going, aren't you?"

"Hey, it's okay, I'll visit." Noah brought Lucille into a hug, holding her close as she sobbed into his chest.

"I know, It just... well, Kinkan makes you smile in a way you haven't in a long time. I'm gonna miss you, but I know it's better for you..."

Noah smiled the best he could. He thought of Lucille as a little sister, even though he knew he was more than that to her.

Lucille wiped her eyes. "I suppose I should go out there now that I'm all ready."

Noah watched her descend the stairs... she was ever so good at pretending she was okay.

He looked over at his collection of books. The boy rushed to his desk and opened his drawer of watch-making materials. Knowing he didn't wanna have to visit back later to retrieve anything, Noah dumped all of its contents into his valise.

His bag shifted on his bed.

"Something's off... I feel drawn to the window..."

Noah peered outside of his windows, hiding the best he could so that whatever it was wouldn't see him...


	76. In Which Noah Meets a Mysterious Alluring Woman

There was a young woman, her hair an auburn red. She seemed to be wearing the clothes a saloon girl would on her shift, which was quite unusual to be wearing in broad daylight. She was extremely beautiful, and Noah almost wanted to climb out the window to greet her. He shook his head. It seemed other people felt the same way about the woman, with quite a few casting longing stares in her direction.

"Magic..." Noah whispered under his breath. It wasn't the good kind.

He peered at the smile on her face. She knew what she was doing and she enjoyed it. Acts like that could harm mortals and humans. Noah rushed to his satchel; maybe that feather could help...

The feather seemed to react instantly to Noah's touch, quivering with a bronze sparkle. "Whoa there, bud; not me, the person outside."

He walked back to the window, pointing the feather towards the woman, who had begun to pass out flyers to any man that stopped to greet her. The feather shimmered a deep pink color, a halo of black surrounding it.

Noah frowned. He didn't know much about Dr. Crou's magic, but if the colors were anything like auras, they might have a magical correspondence.

A creature that attracted men... there was a limit to what she could be. Pink was associated with romance, while black was associated with darkness and sometimes evil...

Noah looked between the woman outside and the books on his bed. If he did research, he could figure out what he was dealing with, and whether or not she was a threat... but if he did, he may not be able to follow her.

With a small grunt, Noah grabbed his coat and exited his room, rushing down the stairs and towards the door.

"Noah, dear, where are you going?!" Alexandria exclaimed.

"Out! I have to do something!"

"Ever so cryptic, that boy..." Firas muttered.

Noah rushed across the street, nearly run over by a hansom cab in the process. The driver pulled to a halt, and when he saw that the boy wasn't in his wheels, he urged the horses forward again, nearly knocking Noah over.

"Oh my! Are you alright?"

Noah looked up and saw the woman offering her hands out to him. She was much more beautiful in person than from behind a window. Her soft eyes stared into his delicately.

"Yes, thank you, Miss," Noah replied.

"Not a problem at all, sweetie." She brushed the dirt off his shoulders. "I am Nilani, and what is your name, handsome?"

"It's, uh, Noah."

"Oh? A biblical name... Well, Noah, if you could have the biggest pleasure of visiting me tonight, I'd be ever so happy." Nilani handed him a small sheet of paper, print written across with the name and location of a nearby pub.

He gave her a smile and turned away, walking down the street. His smile faded as soon as he was out of her presence... Whatever she was, it was strong. It most certainly wasn't a spell or potion, no no. This kind of magic was what she was born to do.

He looked at the sheet again. Live performances... Perhaps a siren? If she were to sing, it would put many under her control; it could drive them mad.

Noah rounded the corner. Looks like he had a ticket to the show she was using to fish. He'd bite the bait before anyone else could get hurt...


	77. In Which Selene Talks with Lytha About the Rumors

Lytha entered the cafe, ordering her drink and taking a seat by the window. Not too much later, Selene also entered the café.

Lytha noticed Selene entering the cafe and waved at her.

Selene noticed Lytha waving and waved back. She ordered her drink and then took the seat in front of Lytha.

"Hey, Selene, how are you?" Lytha asked.

"Uh, I'm doing well; how about you?"

"I'm doing fine."

"That's good to hear. Did anything worth mentioning happen?" Selene asked.

"....Well, have you heard the rumors about a demon child?"

"Of course. Same with the raven girl rumors."

"I wonder who the raven girl is?" Lytha asked.

"Who knows, really. They said they did not see her, only heard a voice. Yet, considering she seemed to have saved Odin that very day, or at least that is what some say, he should know a bit more than we do. Unless he told someone..."

"Odin did say her name was Lilith, wore raven feathers, had red hair... hmmm, I think that's all I heard."

"Aside from you, I do only know one other person that has red hair, but it couldn't possibly be her. And that she wore raven feathers... I think this makes it somewhat possible that she may be related to Odin, in some way..."

"Who is it that you know?" Lytha asked.

"Lucy, obviously -- she has red hair," Selene said. "But then again, it couldn't possibly be her. You both are likely not the only ones with red hairs around."

"But what if it is Lucy?" Lytha asked.

"They said the voice seemingly commanded the ravens to attack. And I do not think that Lucy would hurt anybody. That would be too far-fetched," Selene insisted.

"But..." Lytha trailed off. "Never mind, I'm thinking too much."

"You sure do."

"Haha," Lytha said with a sweatdrop. "After what happened with that stupid prince, I have been thinking too much."

"Well, he is fortunately gone now."

"Thank the heavens for that," Lytha said, sighing with relief.

"With all the magic around this town, he wouldn't have survived it any longer. So, being imprisoned is more merciful than still being around in town. For him."

"Funny thing, I actually went to see him yesterday," Lytha remarked.

"Well, let me guess? Not as serious anymore as he wanted to be?"

"He apologized for what happened, but that's about it."

"He should have seen all this coming. Karma comes around for those who do bad," Selene said. "That he expected however to win all this was dumb."

"Haha, true."

"He simply followed a goal impossible to reach. But either way, all this has been said and done now."

"I never did ask, but Selene, how did you and Lucy meet?" Lytha asked.

"How we met? That was like some time ago," Selene replied. "It was shortly after she came into this town, after she had apparently left as a little child. To be honest, it wasn't anything too special -- it was just like when you meet somebody new. We helped each other often in the past, encouraged each other, and after some time, we just became friends.

"You see... Lucy was quite a lonely child. She had spent most of her childhood alone -- she was a single child and both of her parents were gone -- her father left the family, her mother was deceased for reasons unknown. She always hoped for her father to return, but... it never happened. She was on her own.

"Sure, she had some friends in the other town she had been in before, but none of that could fix the loneliness she felt at times. That is, until she came into this town, Kinkan Town. I cared a lot for her and helped her to get rid of her worries. She is definitely happier now than she was back then." Selene frowned. "That is why I sometimes worry too much about her..."

"Haha, well, I know Lucy is lucky to have a friend like you."

"I sure hope she feels that way. What about you, Lytha? Do you have somebody you care a lot about?"

"Well, my father and siblings of course -- oh, and Evanee."

"Evanee...is she alright? Since now she must know that the town knows about the things she said."

"She... has been unstable recently," Lytha said.

"So... she is worried about what happened, right?

Lytha nodded her head sadly.

"I just hope everything will turn out alright. Someone needs to put out that rumor, not just so that Odin is left alone, but also that Evanee is no longer worried."

"I wonder who started the rumor in the first place; I'm still trying to find out."

"I'd want to know that, too. I just hope that whoever it was does not have bad intentions..."

"I hope so, too," Lytha said. "The twins are sad that they can't play with Odin now."

"I am still sure all of this is a huge misunderstanding..."

"I really hope so."

"Who knows what could happen next? I just hope no one gets hurt," Selene said. "And that the raven girl will not be as much as a problem as... never mind."

Lytha looked at her with puzzlement.

"It's nothing."

"Okay...?" Lytha said uncertainly.

But just then, the door rang another time and a certain other girl entered the café.

Lytha looked up. "Is that Lucy?"

Selene also looked. "Uh, yes, it is."

Lytha waved at Lucy.

Lucy saw Lytha and Selene and did not wave back, but nonetheless walked to them. "Hey, you both."

"Hey, Lucy, how have you been?" Lytha asked.

"I've been doing well, mostly. You?"

"I'm doing fine... mostly."

"That's good to hear, at least." Lucy sat down next to Selene.

Lytha took a sip of her coffee.

"Say, what have you been talking about?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, just about the rumors of Odin," Lytha replied.

"This again... no proof, and still they treat it as a fact that Odin may be the demon they all fear."

"Well, this will be cleared up soon... I hope," Selene said.

"Me too," Lytha added.

"I wouldn't believe it, even _with_ what Evanee said. Humans can say weird stuff if they are worried," Lucy said.

"Humans?" Lytha asked. "Lucy, you sound like Odin."

"Well, uhh... I meant it like, all of us can say weird stuff, humans... in general."

"That makes sense," Lytha replied.

Lucy sighed. Almost. "Either way... are there any other things you've been talking about, or just that rumor?"

"We were also talking about the raven girl, Lilith," Lytha said.

"...I see. Did anything else happen related to her?"

"No, we just talking about who this raven girl could be," Lytha replied.

"No one knows, really." _And I hope it stays that way..._

Lytha looked at her pocketwatch. "Oh, I better get going -- I still have orders to do. Catch you guys around!" She waved goodbye and headed out the door.

"Okay?" Selene said, confused. "Bye!"

"Now...that was sudden," Lucy remarked. "What else did Lytha tell you, Selene?"

"Not much. Only heard that the raven girl apparently has red hair."

"Huh...and there was nothing else?"

"No, nothing else," Selene said.

"Well then."

And so, they had a small conversation about what had happened. Eventually, Selene had to go, so Lucy waved goodbye. And not too much later, Lucy also left the café.


	78. In Which Dr. Crou Visits Some Old Friends

Dr. Crou jumped through his world's portal, breathing a sigh of relief that he was able to safely make it back to his world without anybody following or trailing him.

It was bad enough that Odin was attacked by some overzealous mob who thought he was a demon child and reincarnation of the Raven (technically they weren't wrong, but that was beside the point). Now, some people were leering at him while Dr. Crou worked. Some had come up to him asking if he was part of some conspiracy to revive the Raven. (Far from it.)

Dr. Crou checked his watch and made his way over to a humble home in the Japanese countryside. He rang the doorbell and the door slid open to a young-looking couple with three winged children. It was the home of one of the few surviving crows who fought with him during the war.

"Oh, Korvus! Good to see you! How is life in that Goldcrowne place?" said Dom, who looked like a young male human with spiky hair and bleached highlights.

"Yes, please come in. Ah-becareful Erika! Don't get in the way," Pati said, who looked like a young female human with wavy violet hair.

"It's good to see you too, Dom, Pati." Dr. Crou nodded at the two, playfully swaying side to side as the kids tugged at his arms.

As they settled in, Dr. Crou explained the recent events back at Goldcrowne, along with how recent events made it difficult for either him or Odin to walk around town freely.

"Aww, that is rough, man. Just when you were excited to settle in to the new place," Dom remarked, folding his arms in thought. "Did you come to us in hopes that we, some former spies, can help you with the situation?"

"Erm, not exactly?" Dr Crou admitted. "I actually felt I should visit you guys to kill time before maybe dumpster-diving at the old base. Not sure if there would be anything useful there, though."

He looked at them, a bit hopeful. "Although, are you able to help me with some spy knowledge of yours?"

Dom gave Pati a look, which in turn made her look at back her husband hesitantly.

"Honey, you don't possibly mean..." Pati trailed off.

Dom gave her a reassuring smile. "We don't need to keep it a secret anymore, at least to Korvus. Plus, it's for a dear friend."

She was still doubtful, but gave in.

Meanwhile, Dr. Crou looked at the two, completely puzzled. "Dom, Pati. What are you going on about?"

Dom started to explain. "Remember when you noticed that Pati's magic was different from other shapeshifter's magic, but somehow we convinced you that it was likely a variant magic and the results were the same, so it was not a big deal?"

"Well, of course," Pati spoke up, "you were actually right about that..."

She raised her hand over a vase of wildflowers, changing them into a vase of roses.

"I'm actually can use a form of 'transfiguration' magic. I found out when I was a fledgling, but hid it because I didn't want to be some spell-spammer-puppet during the war. So I pretended to be a shapeshifter to continue as a spy. However, with this, I think I can help you disguise yourself... If you still trust me."

Dr. Crou nodded. "I understand and it's alright, I still trust you. The war was really tough on all of us. I am really glad you are willing to use your powers to help me."

Pati shook her head in protest. "No--I mean, that too. B-but I haven't used my powers on someone else before. And what if it doesn't do anything or worse? It messes up and leaves you in a half altered state--"

"Whoa whoa, Pati. It's alright," Dom reassured her. "Don't worry about that. We can try that trick you do to change your hair color with the hairpins."

"Well, I guess that could work," Pati pondered aloud.

"Whatever it is, I hope it isn't permanent. I would still like to transform normally into a crow," Dr. Crou said.

"Well, we were considering casting spell into an item," Pati explained. "One that is compatible with the magic. That way, you can take it off or on to activate it."

Dom and Pati continued to discuss at length with Dr. Crou the options of items, method of activation, the look of the disguise and various other factors that day. Pati took multiple attempts to perform the magic and make sure it was working correctly.

Eventually, Dr. Crou had himself a disguise that was ready to go, and he couldn't be more happy and grateful towards his friends.


	79. In Which the Five Heroes Discuss the Rumors

Fakir and Ahiru headed toward the academy to meet with Mytho and Rue. Fakir had told Ahiru about the ominous rumors that he had read in the newspaper, and Ahiru had in turn responded with a rumor she heard from Pique and Lilie about townspeople getting attacked by ravens after pursuing the 'demon child'. They knew then that this wasn't something they could ignore any longer, and that if they didn't interfere somehow, this whole uproar could get way out of hand.

"Do you think Rue and Mytho know about this little Odin already?" Ahiru asked Fakir. "He's been in this town for a little while now, and nothing really came of it until all this happened..."

"Doubt it," Fakir replied. "The whole Prince Alex matter had their hands full for a while, and frankly, that kid didn't cause any trouble worth mentioning for it to distract them from that. Now that it's over, though, they really ought to know -- especially with all this public unrest about it."

"And what exactly are you two here for?" Autor had suddenly appeared in front of them on their way past the academy gates.

Fakir groaned. "Autor, what is it now?"

"I was here for after school orchestra practice, which has now let out," he replied evenly. "I don't believe there is any sort of ballet practice this late, however?"

Before Fakir could respond, Ahiru asked Autor, "Umm, Autor, do you know anything about... the little boy named Odin?"

The serious look that crossed his face alone said volumes, but nonetheless he replied, "Yes, I'm very much aware. Is this about him?"

Ahiru nodded. "Have you met him before, Autor? We kinda saw him a little when we were at the cafe helping Evanee before, but we didn't exactly talk much..."

Autor stared at her. "I've personally had a lengthy chat with the boy, so yes. Though, I know about as much as _you_ already should about his backstory," he said, looking at Fakir.

Fakir sighed shortly. "Fine. You should come along -- we're about to tell Rue and Mytho about this situation, and you'll probably have something important to contribute to the discussion as well."

Autor raised an eyebrow crossly at Fakir's choice of words, but he pushed up his glasses and replied, "Well, then -- let's not delay any more and head over to meet them."

~~~~~~~~~

Fakir, Ahiru, and Autor were led into a quiet room within the academy, where Rue and Mytho were waiting to meet them.

"It's good to see you all again," Mytho said to the three, a small smile appearing on his face.

"But this meeting wasn't called for mere pleasantries, was it?" Rue said, looking serious. "What's the news? Did you find out what happened to Drosselmeyer?"

"No, not really," Fakir said, frowning. "But it's something that needs your immediate attention, nonetheless."

When the five of them had settled down into their seats, Fakir began, "So, to sum it up, the town is currently swept up in rumors of a 'demon child' haunting the streets of Kinkan. And the truth of the matter is, it's not completely unfounded, though as you'd figure, very misguided. For one thing, the part about the 'reincarnation of the Raven' isn't entirely untrue."

The royal pair's eyes widened. "The Raven?" Rue asked, alarmed. "You don't mean, that _he's_ returned, and...?"

"Not exactly," Fakir replied. "First of all, you're aware of the visitors from other worlds we've seen around Kinkan lately, right? We met one at the cafe that other day."

"Yes, I remember..." Mytho said soberly, before blinking. "Is this to do with that man?"

"No," Autor said, crossing his arms. "To put it shortly, this is a version of our old _friend_ Odin, but from the past, when he was a child," he said, with an ironic emphasis on 'friend'.

The royal pair's mouths dropped open. "From the past?" Mytho asked, bewildered.

"As a... child?" Rue asked, seemingly torn as to what to think of the matter.

"Yeah," Ahiru said with a nod. "We kinda came across him for just a short while once. He was at the cafe with a bunch of other people, and he wasn't even the cause of the commotion we were looking into. He was just, uh, kinda there, as a witness."

"It seems that, like that crow man we know from the cafe, the boy visits this town from another world -- or in this case, another world _and_ another time," Autor said, adjusting his glasses. "Though, from what I've heard from Dr. Crou -- that's the name of that crow man you met -- it seems this boy is currently not in danger of approaching his dark future we all are familiar with, due to recent events back in his world I'll spare you the lengthy details of."

Mytho put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "And so... the rumors going around are from the mere presence of this boy?"

"To the point where apparently a group of townspeople went after him in the streets," Fakir said. "They attacked him without provocation, as far as I can tell, and he might have gotten hurt more badly if someone else hadn't come to his aid... someone you should also be informed about." He exhaled. "So, there are also rumors that this boy was rescued by a raven girl going by the name of Lilith."

Rue paused with unease. "A raven girl...? Was it one of his friends from back home?"

"Apparently not," Autor said. "From what Dr. Crou told me the boy had said to him, this 'raven girl' was in fact a human, but wearing raven feathers. Yes, I'm aware of the implications," Autor added a little more gently, looking at Rue with concern.

Rue's lips tightened anxiously. "Do we know anything more about this Lilith?"

"Not yet," Fakir said. "She disappeared without a trace right after she had rescued the boy from the townspeople. We don't know where she is now, and haven't heard of her since."

A silence pervaded the room for a few moments.

"In the end," Mytho said, collecting himself, "the most urgent matter at hand we can do something about is the unrest amongst the townspeople, which will be sure to cause more problems if we leave it unchecked. I will see about making a public statement in attempts to quell the worries of the townspeople, and hopefully put these harmful rumors to rest in some way."

"Even if they're not entirely false rumors..." Rue said slowly, "...there is no good to be had from them. This is but an uproar over a mere child who's done no harm."

Mytho nodded at Rue. "I agree," Mytho said. "Let us see to these rumors together."

Rue smiled at him, before the two of them stood up. As the two turned to leave, though, Rue paused. "Do you... know where this boy is right now?"

"I think he went to that cafe a lot," Ahiru said after thinking for a moment. "That's where we first saw him before. After the rumors, though, you probably wouldn't find him out and about..."

Rue's hand clenched. "All the more reason we must deal with this without delay," she said emphatically, before walking toward the door alongside Mytho, resolve in her footsteps.


	80. In Which Mytho and Rue Make an Official Statement

The next day, an official statement was released and distributed to the general public, through newspapers and various messengers. On it was written the following message:

_Dear Beloved Citizens of Kinkan,_

_Greetings, and may you be well this day. We write you today to give you an important message. It has come to our attention that there have been various frightening rumors being passed among the townsfolk as of late, along the lines of a young raven child accused of being the monster Raven incarnate, among other outlandish claims._

_Rest assured, dear citizens, that as protectors of this town many times over, we would not let another true threat escape our notice. On the contrary, this gossip-mongering has only served to cause unrest and needless fear in the populace. There is no reason to believe the town is in any danger from the assertions of these rumors, so we implore you to take the time to reconsider what unfounded claims you may have been brought to believe are legitimate concerns to public safety, and instead give your attention to more rational concerns._

_We as part of the royal family believe in the reasonable nature of the townspeople and trust that you will heed our words promptly and sincerely._

_Signed,_

_Siegfried & Rue_


	81. In Which Dr. Crou Tells Odin the Truth of the Rumors

Dr. Crou hummed as he cleaned up after the customer who had just left. He found his human disguise to be handy during this time as there were less wary stares and more curious glances at his way. He knew it didn't fool the regulars, but nobody really asked.

He was particularly grateful that Prince Siegfried and Princess Rue had sent out those papers to dismiss the rumors that were spreading around. It seemed that most of the town decided to go about their own business rather than ruminate in fear. But he would keep the disguise up for now, more to get used to having a human body.

Dr. Crou wiped down the tables and noticed that right now was that slow lull in between the day. He decided to take this time to do a thorough cleaning of the dining area and headed to the back for the keys of the supply closet.

It was then that Odin, wearing the school uniform cardigan and slacks that Lytha had given him some while ago, walked into the almost empty cafe. He glanced around. "Hey, is anyone here?"

Dr. Crou popped out from the back with keys in hand and noticed Odin in the new clothes. "Hey, Odin, looking sharp there with your new outfit. Where did you get it from?"

Odin saw the doctor, and though he seemed to recognize him without difficulty, he blinked, his eyes widening. "...Dr. Crou? I didn't know you could take a fully human form. Never seen you do it before."

"Ah, I actually had some help from a friend of mine back in my old world. The disguise is activated by this bangle they made." Dr. Crou held up his left hand, showing the dark bangle set amber. "Here, let me put up the sign so I can change back to my normal form and nobody can bother me when I'm cleaning."

The doctor quickly put up the sign on the door, pulled down the door shades, and locked the door. He then unfastened the bracelet with a click, and with a shimmer of light, he changed back to the bird-headed crow man.

"Ah, that's much better," Dr. Crou said as he stretched out his neck. "You can take a seat by the counter, Odin. I need to put up the chairs to mop the floor."

Odin nodded. "Yeah, okay," he replied. The boy headed over to the counter as instructed and flopped himself onto one of the chairs. "Oh, and these clothes were a gift from Lytha, way back when I first met her. 'Cause apparently, all it takes to hide among humans is to take a human form and wear human clothing. They can't tell the difference between a raven and their actual own kind. Funny, huh?"

Dr. Crou chuckled. "Quite so. I guess when they look for only the most obvious differences, they stop trying when they don't find it. Did you need anything before I get started? Juice or water?" he asked as makes his way to the counter.

"Nah, I'm fine, but thanks," Odin said casually.

"Okay, I'll leave these here just in case." Dr. Crou set down a small glass of water and a bowl of snacks before he started stacking the chairs on the tables.

"So, I heard that the prince and princess of this town sent out a letter to everyone to calm down about those rumors going around. Still don't know where the whole thing came from, but I'm glad it's basically on its way out. It's because of them that my friends still couldn't hang out in this town, even when the portal works for them now."

"Yes, I am quite glad those two took care of the issue. We wouldn't have been able to convince the town otherwise. But the thing is," he said as he worked, "it's kind of complicated where the rumor actually came from. It technically came from Evanee's prophecies, but in reality, the fact you came from a story through a portal complicates things..."

Odin tilted his head. "Well, I know there's the thing about this world being a future of my world... except it's a different world," he added, looking confused. "But another future me apparently exists here, somewhere. So that one went from my homeworld to this one at some point, just like I did."

"Ah, so you know about that part. That makes things easier to explain, then. Did you hear about the story of the Prince and the Raven?"

Odin raised an eyebrow. "The Prince and the Raven? Don't think I know a story named that... is it some sorta human folklore?"

"Yes and no. Remember how the human Drosselmeyer was the one who wrote your story? He also wrote that story, and it is deeply ingrained in this town's history."

Dr. Crou went on to give a summary of The Prince and the Raven, of how the Raven was the cruel antagonist who ate the hearts of the people who loved the Prince and the endless struggle between the two, and how it ended with Princess Tutu and her powers of hope. Upon hearing of the Raven, Odin creased his brow and grimaced, though he listened through Dr. Crou's explanation fully without interruption.

When he finished, Odin bit his lip, somewhat troubled. "The world in that story... it sounded an awful lot like home. I recognized some of the places and people in that world. But either way, I can't believe a raven would do such things. Or could be that scarily powerful..."

"Yes, it is hard to believe. One might think something drastic must have happened to the Raven before becoming like that.... Have you ever wondered what might have happened if you couldn't get rid of that heart in the forest, Odin?"

Odin blinked. "Huh? Is that related somehow?"

"Yes, it is very much related," Dr. Crou said. "That heart was so cursed that it was creating red ghosts around it before we cleansed it. If we haven't done that, what do you think might have happened instead?"

Odin was mystified at the discussion, but did his best to follow. "Umm... it would have gone on haunting everyone around it... until someone got rid of it somehow," he said, looking pained at the thought.

"Yes, one needed to destroy it if they couldn't cleanse it. One would say the sword the Prince could have destroyed it, but other than that, most aren't powerful enough to get rid of a heart, much less a regular raven."

Odin was silent for some moments, reliving the time when this very dilemma hung over him without cease. "...Then..."

"The cursed heart would have stayed; it would not have gotten any better, either. And the ghosts would have grown in number even more. Quite a dire situation..."

Dr. Crou took a deep breath. "This is what I heard from the human Autor, about what happened to this world's Odin. It's not written in a story anywhere, but what happened to him is true."

Odin looked at Dr. Crou. "Autor... yeah, I talked with that human before, too. He was the one who told me about that short story, how he knew what had happened to me when he had never been there."

"Yes, he also didn't want to tell you what might have happened next, because this world's Odin couldn't find an answer to get rid of that heart..."

Dr. Crou continued the story, of how the roost found this world's Odin and the heart and started fighting over it. Of how out of desperation, he ate the heart and the suffering that had followed next. Of how his friends died in trying to stop him or by his own hand...Of how the Raven had finally came to be.

Hearing this alternate future of his was at first bewildering, but Odin's expression gradually yet surely turned into alarm, and as he heard the effects of the consumed heart, warped into horror.

When Dr. Crou got to the end, when it was utterly clear what the Odin in his story had become and what had become of his best friends, Odin's haunted gaze lowered to the ground and his posture closed up tightly, his arms pressed close to himself and his hands gripped together, ever so slightly quivering. "...How long... have you known this?" Odin asked in almost a whisper, grief etched into his voice. "When did Autor tell you all of that?"

Dr. Crou came and sat closer to Odin, looking away for a bit to remember how long ago he had known about this. "It was a few weeks before you told me that day, in this café, about the heart," he finally said. "Autor actually had told me everything, not just about your story."

As the implications of his statement sunk in, Odin's eyes began to fill with unshed tears. "....Ever since back then? So even back when... I told you about the heart... you knew what would have happened if I had..."

He looked at Dr. Crou suddenly. "Why? Why would you do that?" Odin asked, utterly at a loss. "How could you have said those things if you knew that I could.... could be...."

Odin can't even say it. He glanced off to the side, biting his lip hard, trying to keep the tears away.

Dr. Crou looked at the poor boy, feeling his heart break. "You deserve better, fledgling." He gently wrapped an arm around Odin. "I can't forget the first day we met, I had felt I met another son in you." Dr. Crou could barely keep his voice from cracking. "When I heard all of this, I was utterly devastated. I couldn't let that happen if it could be prevented, so I tried my best to help you not to go on that path. If I had failed, I was ready to take your place instead..."

Odin gripped his hands and looked at Dr. Crou quickly with alarm. "Wh-what? But, I -- I wouldn't want you -- no, I wouldn't let you," he said, his stammering ending with an emphatic statement. "It... it was my burden to..."

Upon remembering everything Dr. Crou had said back then, everything they had gone through in his world to avoid that dark destiny, he trailed off on that last sentence, now at an utter loss for words. Odin winced as he couldn't hold back the tears any longer, and instead began furiously wiping them away into his white blouse sleeves.

Dr. Crou couldn't help but wrap his arms completely around Odin, bringing the boy in closer to his chest to cry it out. Odin simply let himself be warmly embraced, not making a single sobbing sound, but the tears still flowing freely.

After some moments, Odin had only one more thing to say: "I'm... I'm really glad you helped me change that future, Dr. Crou."

"And I'm glad that you let me do it with you, Odin."


	82. In Which Lytha and Selene Discuss Her Brother Cyrus

Lytha walked into the cafe, ordered her drink and sat by the window, deep in thought.

Selene was already in the café. She noticed Lytha sitting there all alone and decided to sit in front of her. "Uhh...Lytha?"

"Oh, Selene! When did you get here?"

"Some time ago? You seemed to be deep in thought..."

"Oh... sorry... I have been thinking lately, after what the twins said..."

"The twins...you mean, your siblings? Why, what did they say?" Selene asked.

"...They... they were the ones who spread the rumors."

"Oh...now that is unfortunate. But about the rumors, you should be way less worried now," Selene said. "The rumors were put out by the prince and the princess."

"Yes, but..." Lytha sighed. "You're right... but I still had to punish the twins so I grounded them for two weeks," she said. "That also meant not going to school."

"Well, that rumor did throw the town into madness, after all. But I think all should be cleared up now," Selene said. "As for the raven girl rumor, though... I don't know if that one was put out."

"...I also worry for Evanee... she has been unstable since she found out about the rumors caused by the twins. She blames herself." Then Lytha mumbled, "And I wonder where Noah is at a time like this..."

"Would it make her feel better if she knows that the rumor is put out...?"

"She might, provided she allows me into the house... she locked herself in her house and has not come out since then."

"She will know, sooner or earlier..."

"...I hope so," Lytha said. "Anyways... how have you been, Selene?"

"Good, nothing out of the ordinary. Talked with my brother a bit before I came into the café."

"You have a brother?"

"I do have a brother, yes. He does attend the academy, unlike me."

"Oh, what class is he in?" Lytha asked.

"Music class, if I remember correctly."

"Oh really, hmmm... then maybe I have seen him?"

"Maybe you have? Short brown-blonde hair -- a darker blonde than mine -- and blue eyes?"

"Hmmm... oh!" Lytha snapped her fingers. "I saw him like, twice, but all we did was greet each other."

"That's good to know. You see, we had the decision if we wanted to join the academy or not. I did not want to, but he did."

"I see..." Lytha said. "Have you seen your brother perform?"

 **"** He told me that he does not really like to perform... And he also told me that he may think of asking if he could change classes, too," Selene added.

"Oh, to what?"

"That, he did not tell me. I have a feeling though it's gonna be either the art class, or the reading/writing class."

"That's nice."

"Say, what did make you join the ballet class in the first place?" Selene asked. "I'm just curious."

"Well, my father had said that my mother was a prima donna. So I decided to follow in her footsteps."

"Huh, interesting. Well, remembering your dance some time ago, you have practiced a lot. I would assume you are in the advanced class by now...?"

"Yep, I'm in the advanced class," Lytha replied.

"Did you ever perform the fairy tale Swan Lake?"

"Hmmm, oh, I did," Lytha said, "but I think I was a minor character back then?"

"Maybe you'll get to perform it again, this time you being Odette."

"That would be a bit embarrassing..."

"Why?" Selene asked.

"Well, I mean, getting the main lead is difficult, and I'm scared I would mess up."

"Ah, well, that is justified, but if you practice a lot before and manage to not be scared of messing up, I'm sure you could do it."

"Thanks, Selene," Lytha said, sipping her coffee.

"You're welcome!"

The two continued to talk for a while longer before leaving the cafe.


	83. In Which Odin Meets Lilith Again

It was just another dusk in Gold Crown Town, now relatively peaceful again since the rumor of the raven child being the demon incarnate has been put out by the royal couple. As for the other rumor, there had been no further sightings of the raven girl. Some thought that she may not appear again, and others were convinced that they hadn't seen the last of her.

Cyrus, Selene's brother, was on his way home, not really paying attention to all the happenings around him. It wasn't anything too special, he thought.

But soon, he heard noises. These noises and its origin weren't too well loved by the townspeople. It was ravens, flying around in a swarm.

Despite what happened, he shrugged it off -- there was nothing to fear after all, now that the rumor was deconfirmed.

Odin, meanwhile, was on his way back to the portal between his world and this one (where he insisted Loki and Frigg to go on ahead of him, after spending some time here with Odin and being shown around by their friend). Then, he sensed something amiss in the air. He glanced up, and saw a few crows agitated by something -- and it felt... "off". He furrowed his brow, and hesitated as to whether to shake it off and go home or to investigate.

Suddenly, another person walked up to Cyrus. Since Cyrus had never met her in person, he did not know that it was a friend of Selene's. It was Lucy.

"Excuse me..." she said.

" Hm?"

"It's good that I found you here, for I need your help."

"Help...what do you mean? Who are you?" Cyrus asked.

"That... is not important now, is it?"

"Uhh, it is actually very well important, for--"

Suddenly, Lucy cut him off. "Let me ask you this, then. Aren't you tired of all this violence and hate within this town?"

"Hate and violence...? I mean...yes, I am. It's not a good thing, but... there is, unfortunately, no way to stop it. There will always be both around; it's something we cannot control."

"It will always go on, unless someone makes a change. I will spare you the details; I'll just say that we, together, could."

That confused Cyrus a bit. How was there a way to stop this? "We...could? How?"

"If you want to know more, meet me in a few minutes at the abandoned building. I'll be waiting."

After this, Lucy turned around and walked away.

"Wait, but--"

Lucy ignored him and continued walking off.

Cyrus was confused, although something told him that he should go there. After all, he was curious about what she had meant. How could the two of them possibly stop all this?

He could also ignore this, but he strangely had a great desire of going there, for reasons he could not explain. And...why did the girl not explain right here, right now?

Without wasting a second thought, he started walking. Heading slowly, but sure, to the place they were to meet.

Some minutes passed and Cyrus then arrived at the building. And just as it was thought, Lucy was already here. But like Lucy, he also felt watched by something else...

"How great that you did heed what I said..."

What was not known by Cyrus was that multiple swarms of ravens sat in the trees, watching all of this quietly.

Elsewhere, just as Odin was deciding whether or not to stay and figure out what was causing the "off" feeling, he heard ravens' shouts in the distance, concentrated in one spot -- loudly enough that he could tell there was a great deal of them gathered there.

Deciding right then and there to investigate, with a flurry of feathers he changed into bird form and flew in that direction, finding the abandoned building they had gathered at quite quickly.

He settled himself among the other ravens gathered, and noticed right away that something was not right with these ravens -- they seemed in a crazed trance, not of their own minds. He knew then that something was definitely wrong, and began to search for the source.

Within the building, Cyrus replied, "Yes, I suppose I was curious. So...what did you mean with all this?"

"Simple. We all have power to make some change, and just as I do dislike hate and violence, you do as well, don't you?"

Somehow, these words seemed...hypnotizing to him. "Yes, I do... it's not fair for innocents to get hurt," he said in a half-trance. "But...how can we achieve something like this? How can we change all this?"

"It is relatively simple, for you must not do much. All you have to do..." Lucy said, raising her finger toward his chest, "...is to simply give me your heart. I shall take care of the rest.

"My...heart...? But...why?"

"I assure you, it is the only way."

And just as these words were said, a familiar presence had arisen. Lucy had transformed into Lilith.

Outside, seeing that whatever was causing this disturbance wasn't surrounding the building, Odin flew into the abandoned building's rafters and looked around inside. He spotted two humans, one of whom he didn't recognize, but the other -- his eyes widened when Odin realized that it was that raven-feathered girl named Lilith.

And just as Odin had witnessed this scene, a structure had risen under Cyrus, composed out of raven feathers. Lilith herself stood on a raven structure, watching this with glee. As if by magic, wings had spread behind her. "And now...give me your heart!"

Odin's eyes widened with alarm. It echoed what Dr. Crou had told him just the other day -- that the "other him" from this world's future had hungered endlessly for hearts, and enslaved others to collect them for him. Except, why was this happening now?! When the battle was supposedly over...?

Having no time to think this over, he swooped down from the rafters and turned back into human form with a burst of feathers, landing between the human he didn't know and Lilith. "Wait, Lilith! What are you doing?! Stop this!" he yelled, his fists clenching.

This alarmed her. _That voice...!_ She saw Odin there and had a quick thought.

Suddenly, the structure Cyrus was on collapsed, softly sinking him down to the ground again as Lilith's eyes widened. Her wings disappeared and she gasped in shock. And after looking, she realized her mistake. "What... did... I....?"

Suddenly, she summoned a feather storm, disrupting the view for a small time. When the storm ended, Lilith was gone, without a trace.

Odin, panting a little, stood in shocked silence as he realized that Lilith had disappeared.

After a moment, he glanced behind him at the human whose heart Lilith almost collected and ran over to him. "Hey, human! Are you okay?!" He bent down and prodded him with concern. "Say something!"

Cyrus opened his eyes and sat up. "Wha...what happened...?"

Odin sighed with relief. "Okay, good, you're alive and have your heart..." Odin looked at the human. "Why was Lilith trying to take your heart? How did things get like this?"

"Wha... who is... Lilith? What do you mean? The last thing I can remember is that I was heading home..."

Odin tilted his head, frowning. "You don't remember? That girl in raven feathers was here just now..."

"No, I...do not remember a girl in raven feathers... I'm sorry..."

Odin put a hand his chin pensively. "Hmmm..." He looked at the young adult human. "What's your name? You may call me Odin."

"The name's Cyrus, nice to meet you....I suppose," he said. "Wait a minute...aren't you that child of which was said earlier who was a 'rebirth' of a long-dead demon?"

"Huh?" Odin asked, then realized what he was saying and exhaled with irritation. "Ugh, _that_ again... for the last time, I'm--"

Then he remembered what Dr. Crou had told him, and he hesitated. Now he knew why it had gone around, for whatever reason... but in a moment's thought, he realized that it truly wasn't "him", but someone he could have been... and isn't.

So after the momentary hesitation, he said, "...I'm just a raven boy. The prince and princess said those rumors were a load of cow dung, didn't they?"

"Yes, they did and I did never trust in this rumor, anyways. It just sounds...very unrealistic. Either way..." Cyrus stood up. "I do not know what happened, or why I am here, but... nonetheless, I shall go home now."

"What's the last thing you remember before you got here?" Odin asked him.

"The last thing I remember...although very barely is that I talked with someone."

"Someone?" Odin asked. "Do you remember anything about them?"

Cyrus tried hard to remember. "It...was a girl, I believe. But...she wasn't dressed in raven feathers, instead...she wore...a normal school uniform. And if I remember correctly, she...had red hair? I don't know. This is so confusing..."

"Red hair? In a school uniform...?" Odin blinked, recalling that afternoon when he had talked to a girl who met that very description. Though, she had denied any connection to her... "Huh. I see."

Odin turned around to leave. "Well, if you're all right, then I guess I'll be going, too."

"Alright, I suppose... I guess I'll see you sometime later, then. If we meet again, that is."

At that, the two of them parted ways, with Odin having a number of things to ponder over.


	84. In Which Lucy Reflects on Lilith

It was another dusk and the sun was almost set completely as Lucy returned to her dorm room another time. But...this time, things were very different.

She just returned from what could have been the worst mistake she would have made in her life. She was thankful for Odin stopping her right there. It was out of her control -- she was caught off-guard by the sudden will of gathering a heart. Why did she want a heart, of all things? Not just that she wanted one, the fact alone that it was a heart that she desired was shocking enough.

She started to ask herself - what had she become? What was the reason for all of this? At this point, she would be lying if she was said she felt human. Whatever she had become, it was definitely not that. Did she....become a raven? **A demon?** Hell if she knew...

Whatever she did become, it was definitely not normal. And she could no longer pretend that she was fine.

But on the other hand, others would worry about her... and that was something she wanted to avoid. She couldn't wait any longer... she needed to control her newfound dark side, and quickly. And she knew that she would need help.

She knew who could help her, but she also worried that all of this would be easier said than done.


	85. In Which Odin Chats with Loki and Frigg About Lilith

"So, this 'Lilith' you're talking about... she's a human, but who wears raven feathers?" Frigg asked Odin as the three of them sat in the branches of a tree near the prodding bridge.

The three of them regularly trekked out with Odin to this other world, now that thanks to Noah, they could use it readily. Odin had wasted no time in showing them around the town, from his favorite perching spots to the best human-watching spots, and even introducing them to the ravens of the town itself (though, they weren't much for talking, not having human forms to change into). He also told them about the various people he had met, and it was now that discussing recent events, the girl Lilith had come up.

"S'far as I can tell," Odin replied. "I've seen her twice now, and both times... something troubling happened," he said with a little discomfort.

"You said she showed up and came to your aid when those humans attacked you, right?" Loki asked. "Then disappeared without a trace. You're saying you've seen her a second time?"

"Yeah, back when you all went on ahead after I said I'd catch up," Odin said. "But this time, I wasn't the one who was attacked, and it wasn't by humans. This time, Lilith was attacking another human -- trying to take his heart."

Frigg and Loki looked at each other with alarm. "His heart?!" they exclaimed.

"I presume she did not succeed...?" Frigg ventured uneasily.

"No, I made sure of that," Odin said, shaking his head. "But I've got no idea why she was trying to take his heart in the first place -- it wasn't for the same reason I had, that's for certain," he said, his brow furrowing.

Odin thought about this. It wasn't entirely unknown to him as to the reason -- the tale of how the Raven had hungered for hearts was the likely underlying cause for this incident. But how could it, when both he and the older version of himself were no longer the Raven who would have demanded them? He hadn't been able to tell Frigg and Loki about the Prince and the Raven story, though he hadn't exactly meant to keep it a secret -- he just never felt a strong enough motivation to do so, and it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to talk about.

"And what did the human have to say about it?" Loki asked. "Er, I mean, the one who wasn't in raven feathers."

Odin shook his head again. "He had no idea why either. He didn't even seem to remember getting there. Though he mentioned seeing another human before he got there, and well... I've met a human matching the description he gave. She had denied involvement, but... I wonder if that was entirely true."

Frigg glanced at Odin, studying him. Her instincts on him told her he was holding something back, but something also told her it would pain him to talk about it. If that was the case, she didn't want to make him talk unless there was an actual need for it. "So, you're worried that this Lilith will strike again, and what you're going to do the next time it happens, right?"

"I mean, next time I can just stop her like I did that day, but..." Odin pursed his lips. "That's assuming that she won't react with hostility at me showing up again. I feel like she won't, like for some reason she had made some kind of mistake -- but what kind of mistake would make you do something like that...?" He thought a moment. "The ravens around her... they acted like they were in a trance, like they were out of their minds. I wonder if it was something similar to that..."

Frigg paused. "You said... you were able to stop her, right?" she asked. "How did you do that? Did she just stop when you told her to, or...?"

"Yeah, strangely enough..." Odin said with puzzlement. "I just yelled at her to stop -- like, barely once -- and she just froze and stopped right then and there. Which made me think, maybe she was in that sort of trance, too."

Loki looked thoughtful. "Maybe it's some kind of curse... though, what kind of curse would make a human girl wear raven feathers? Even if it were one of those curses that turned a human into a raven, it wouldn't make them crazy like that..."

Odin was silent. He didn't know the details of how it worked, but something about the Raven's blood... _his_ blood... did that to people, both humans and ravens alike. That he would somehow be the cause behind this, even as he managed to stop her from going through with taking the human's heart... he wondered if there was anything he could possibly do about it.

Then it occurred to him -- if it _was_ his blood, or at least partially so, then if the Raven controlled others through that blood, did that mean... he had that influence, too?

Two feelings came to him, one right after the other -- the first of horror, that he would have that kind of control over someone because of it. But the one that came after it -- uneasy awe, as he realized that perhaps, _because_ of that very influence, he was the reason that he was able to stop that girl from taking the human's heart? Not just because he said so, but because his _own blood_ commanded it to be?

"Odin? What's wrong?" Frigg asked him, noticing again his odd brooding silence.

"What?" Odin said, not realizing he was showing any signs of his thoughts. "No, it's nothing..." he said absentmindedly, as if by habit.

Frigg paused pensively, knowing that Odin had an all too familiar reflex of keeping his problems to himself. But knowing also that he would tend to isolate himself if one didn't reach out to him, she said, "If something's bothering you, if there's anything we can do about it to help -- just say the word, all right, Odin?" Frigg nodded. "Never forget, we're here for you, always."

Odin looked at her with slight surprise. After a pause, he nodded back at her. "Yeah, don't worry; if there is, I'll let you two know right away. Thanks, Frigg."

The two of them smiled at him, before Loki added wryly, "There's no way I would let my scrawny little friend out there without a friend by his side. He gets himself into so much trouble, what would he do without me?"

Frigg glared at the bigger of her two friends, clicking her tongue. "Loki, stop with that nonsense!"

But Odin smirked playfully. "Oh no, what would _you_ do without _me_ , Loki? I'd tell you where you'd be -- bored and uninspired, living your day-to-day life like the drudgery it'd otherwise be. Am I wrong?"

Loki laughed, giving Odin a teasing push. "For better or for worse, my friend!"

Frigg sighed, shaking her head. "I just can't deal with you two sometimes."

Odin and Loki both laughed at that.

Down below near the bridge, Dr. Crou strolled on by while carrying some groceries. He was running some errands and was making his way to the used bookstore. He heard some laughter and looked to see three fledglings in the tree near him. "Odin!" Dr. Crou waved at them. "Is that Frigg and Loki with you?"

"Dr. Crou!" Odin waved at him from the tree.

"You're looking at 'em!" Loki said, waving alongside his two friends.

"Ah, looks like you two got the portal to work. That's good! Did you get to see the town?"

"Yeah, I've taken them to see a few places around!" Odin called out. "I showed them where the cafe is, but I didn't really get to show them inside yet."

"We can go there now if you want. I am just about done with my errands so we can meet there in a little bit. My treat!"

The fledglings looked at each other. "Sure!" Odin replied. "We'll meet you there!"

"You've been talking a lot about this cafe," Loki said. "What kinds of food does it have there, anyway?"

"They have all sorts of things!" Odin exclaimed. "There's a whole long list of the food and drink they have on their menu, it's like its own leaflet! And they even take requests..."

Their conversation continued all the way to the cafe, where they feasted on foods and drink of all sorts -- an event that Loki and Frigg were certainly not accustomed to, but by the end, were certainly up for doing so again sometime.

After a long conversation among the four ravens over their hearty meal, they went back home in high spirits, and looking forward to what the next day might bring.


	86. In Which Noah Confronts the Alluring Woman

Noah entered the pub, his hands within his pockets. It seemed to be an invitation and list entry only, for the man in front of the door had stopped him and a few others, letting only Noah in when he showed the slip Nilani gave him.

There was a bar among the back wall, with a curtain leading into a different section of the building. Chairs and tables were lined up on the left, while on the right, the furniture faced a medium-sized stage.

Noah looked around at the patrons. All white men from the ages 20-45, perhaps. Their tailored petticoats suggested high class, which was a claim supported by their shoes that were so polished you could see your reflection in them.

The way some lurked around suggested that such a pub was a gambling front. So Nilani was preying on rich men with a desire to shake things up illegally.

Noah stepped up to the counter, signaling for a whiskey to come his way. Grateful drinking age at the time would allow him to fit in, but terrified of what his mother would say.

"Gad, Corbin, you very well know the competition for railroads will prevent your rise to fame! Take my cut and you'll be set for the next few years. At least until your little ones develop."

Ah, so it was a business deal front as well.

A young man, perhaps a bit younger than Noah, walked around with a basket of red roses. "Roses! Roses five cents apiece, any takers?"

Immediately, a dozen men stood from their seats and rushed past Noah to the boy, flicking coins at him in exchange for the blossoms. _Intriguing_ _..._

"What are those for?" Noah asked the boy as the crowd dispersed to their seats.

"The showgirl, sir. Every night she picks a lucky winner based on the roses thrown to her after the act."

Noah looked at the boy curiously. "What do they win?"

"Sir, are you a cop? Cause if you are, I ain't supposed to tell you nothing."

Noah laughed “I am not such a thing, my friend. I'm just new here."

"None knows what the prize is. I've heard it's the location to the second, more secluded pub, where real business goes down. But don't say you heard it from me."

Noah handed the boy a dollar. "I'll take whatever number of roses this'll get me."

"I--wow, okay. Here you are, sir! Enjoy the show!"

And as though it was on queue, the curtain raised and Noah braced himself to face the music. What else could she be besides a Siren, that warranted the roses and the stage?

Nilani entered the stage, causing an eruption of cheers. "And now, I present -- the great magician, Mister Oliver Jinx!"

No... it couldn't be. Noah watched as the man approached the center of the stage, still exciting the audience, but not as much as Nilani did.

Not one, but two magical creatures were rogue, and Noah didn't even know what they had planned.

He looked around for any exits. Nilani's magic wasn’t strong, but there was no telling what influence a spellcaster could have on him.

Normally, he'd brace for it and deal, but if this affected him, he wouldn't go back to Kinkan, to his new home, to Evanee and his new family...

The crowd erupted in yet about cheer as Noah's thoughts scrambled to take in what was happening. He looked up at the magician, terrified of what act he was going through with, what spell he was casting on the audience--

And watched as the man pulled a string of infinite cloth from his mouth.

Oh.

Hey, wait a minute! These were simple stage magic tricks! The kind that Noah had taught himself in 3rd grade! Why was the crowd so invested when they were clearly party tricks...?

The girl smiled and handed the magician a glass of water, swaying with the eyes of the crowd.

Right. Even if the magician was a hoax, Nilani's magic was not. She was still using magic to mesmerize the crowd: something often associated with Enchanters.

So there was no dangerous creature. Regardless, it was wrong for her to use magic to manipulate others, and Noah intended to let her know as a small warning. Hopefully he'd also be able to find out why she was doing it, and see if he could help her.

He relaxed in his chair, enjoying the dumb—but entertaining—show.

An eruption of applause sounded as Jinx bowed, the din growing even louder when he presented Nilani.

Jinx exited the stage, and Nilani took the center. "Thank you all very much for coming tonight."

She scanned the crowd, and upon meeting Noah's eyes, gave him a small wink.

Roses were thrown upon the stage, and as Nilani collected them and exited, Noah paid his tab, removing himself from the bar.

Looking around to make sure no one was looking, Noah slipped past the curtain, heading right toward the stage.

"What do you mean, you don't have the rest of them?"

"I sold them to a young man," a voice that Noah recognized as that of the flower boy's spoke.

"And he did not throw them on the stage?"

When the boy did not answer, Nilani sighed. "I suppose we will have to buy more. Will tonight's profits allow us to do so?"

"Yes, miss, I'll prepare it now."

Noah waited until the boy’s footsteps exited before walking backstage, holding the roses in his arms. Nilani was facing a table away from him.

"Now... which to choose.... Not Mr.Gadner. He has a wife, wouldn't be very good for business. Charles? I doubt that would be much fun... Oh, but that young man should have bought flowers... Noah? I haven't the faintest idea who he is, and wouldn't that make things easier..."

"And why's that?" Noah smiled as he approached.

"Speak of the Devil and he shall appear. That's biblical, too, isn't it?" She chuckled and turned to see Noah. "Oh, and you've come with gifts."

Noah handed the flowers to Nilani. "So, what's this little lottery for, anyway?"

"No need to ask, you've won it," she replied. "Follow me."

Noah crossed his arms "Will do, but we need to talk."

She laughed, opening up a trap door.

"What is this, the secret passage?"

The girl smiled and descended the ladder, leaving Noah no choice but to follow her.

The enchantress was most likely wanting to prey him into revealing his riches or sending him into some sort of gambling ring. It wasn't his business to meddle in such affairs, but he needed to tell her what she was doing was wrong.

The trapdoor seemed to open up to an underground wine cellar, in which Nilani lit the three torches within the room.

"Nilani, you need to stop this."

"Hm? I'm sorry?"

"I know you're using magic to coerce men," Noah said. "And for what? Profit? I understand it's innocent, but it's still not right."

"Well, you seem much more educated than I imagined," Nilani replied. "I usually go for the incompetent ones. Oh, but how oblivious you are."

Nilani leaned into Noah. "There's nothing innocent about it," and with that, she pressed a kiss against his mouth.

Noah shifted. He shifted. That's all he could do. Shift. He could move. He couldn't stop her. He couldn't push her away.

But goodness, he wanted to.

Nilani pulled back, consuming his shoulders with her arms. "Ah, you seem so tense. Relax a little; it'll pass easier that way."

Noah growled. "What are you doing? Why can't I move?! Enchantresses can't paralyze."

Nilani cackled. "You are a funny one. Enchantress? You think I'm something as simple as that? Cheap magic."

"What are you?" Noah couldn’t help but be terrified. He really didn't sign up for this.

"Noah's a biblical name, isn't it? Do you believe in the Devil?"

Noah's eyes widened. "You--you can't be... That's why I saw a hint of black magic, mixed in with the pink... you're a succubus!"

"Perhaps you are a clever boy," she said. "Not that that matters." She pulled him into another kiss.

Noah watches as Nilani extended her hand out, talons sprouting from the tips of her fingers. And as she slashed her hand down into his chest, he could feel his vision slipping out.

_He could see it all once again. Her face upon the moonlight, 66 years into the future, 6 into his past._

_He should have been more careful, he should have watched her. That’s what big brothers were supposed to do._

_She was so sweet. It was just the two of them walking around the streets. It was just the two of them tracking down bad guys as little ones. And it was just the two of them when the werewolf lunged out._

_There was so much blood. For such a small body, it weighed so much to carry her back home._

_Noah had already known she was gone, but there had to be some way to fix it. He had to believe. He had to._

_For months he had sat alone in his room, shut himself out, knowing his father would do it to him if he didn't,_ _but as he escaped from the shell that was his guilt, that shunning never went away. He couldn’t blame them. They lost their baby girl. And it was his fault._

No one should have to lose a child to a rogue monster. Nor a father or mother, a husband or wife, a brother a sister. Noah knew his father wished he had died that day, he was less powerful, less obedient.

But now... now he had a reason to fight creatures of violence. No one would have to die alone. Scared. No one to know what happened to them. To him. Crou, Odin, Lytha... Evanee. They were his family. They wouldn’t know what was to happen to him.

Noah opened his eyes.

He could feel the succubus draining his life force through the cuts that ran deep through his chest.

He grasped the wine bottle next to him, and before Nilani could notice, he struck her in the head. The bottle broke, and her true form screamed at him. She lunged forward with wild eyes, and Noah plunged the glass shard into her stomach, tears escaping his eyes as he felt the edges dig into his hand. "I'm not a bible kind of guy."

Her body lay clumped on the floor, turning to its human form before his eyes. Noah dropped the shard. There was blood on his hands. It wasn't just his... it was hers, too.

Noah froze. He didn't have to blink for the tears to fall out of his eyes.

The aching pain snapped him out of the trance, as Noah looked down at his chest. He needed to clean this fast before he passed out from blood loss. At least he knew that.

Time seemed to pass so quickly as Noah opened up a portal thoughtlessly. He watched as the succubus fell through into a dimension of shadows, ones that feasted on the living. They rose out of the portal, sucking up bits of the blood before Noah sealed it for his own safety.

It was strange. He could feel his mind on autopilot. He wasn't sure how he knew what to do, but it came to him like a dream.

His hands shook as he opened yet another portal, crawling to his own room, where the boy frantically wrote a note in his own blood. There was no time. If he was to die, he'd tell them how he felt before hand. Then he'd die in her arms.

Clutching the valise to his chest, Noah rested the note on his bedroom floor opening one last portal. One last destination.

Kinkan.


	87. In Which Noah Arrives Back in Kinkan

In a different corner of Kinkan, far from the cathedral, Dr. Crou just so happened to take off his hat for a short while to clean it, when he felt something coming from the center of the town -- something familiar. He noticed that it was Noah's magic. But the magic felt strange. Frantic and erratic.

Dr. Crou switched to his crow form to fly over there. Something in his gut told him that he should get there quickly. Perhaps because he had sensed this before on the battlefield, too...

It was at this crucial moment that Odin and his two friends Loki and Frigg came through the portal that appeared at the cathedral to visit for the day. Suspecting nothing, they walked around the corner...

"...And then the other raven said, 'That was _my_ treasure!'" Odin said with a chuckle to his friends.

"Really? He said that after all that had happened?" Loki said with amusement.

Then in front of them, the three of them saw a human lying on the ground, bloodied and torn up.

Realizing in an instant that they knew this human, their eyes all widened at once and they gave out a collective cry of alarm. " _Noah!!_ "

Odin dove down on the ground beside him, immediately looking him over as his friends followed right behind him. "Noah!! What happened?! Say something!" he yelled, trying to see if he was conscious -- or alive, even.

Noah groggled a little.

"Okay, he's alive," Loki said quickly. "But for how long? We need to stop his bleeding somehow. He'll die of blood loss alone at this rate."

Frigg bit her lip, conjuring up in her hands a gray rough cloth that looked like some form of gauze, and pressing it onto the most freely bleeding wounds. "I don't know if this'll be enough..."

Odin gripped his hands with determination. "I'm not gonna let him die here," he said emphatically.

Odin remembered that Dr. Crou had healing magic, but he also knew that Dr. Crou was not there at that moment. He realized that if he wanted to keep this human alive, he'd better try to do something himself. Even if he wasn't able to do healing magic before, wasn't there any way he could do it now...?

He held his hands directly over Noah and closed his eyes, trying to focus as hard as he could. "I'm gonna try to use some healing magic Dr. Crou tried to teach me once. I wasn't much good at it, but it's the only option we've got right now!"

Loki nodded. "Way better than no healing magic at all. Frigg, you keep pressing his wounds and give Odin some time to work it!"

"Understood," she said with a dutiful nod, continuing to hold the cloth on Noah's injuries.

More than ever before, Odin tried to remember what Dr. Crou had told him about how to use healing magic. It was about positivity, and life, he recalled. About feelings of wellness and contentment. The memories that one recalled fondly...

As Odin focused, a faint pale lavender light began to glow from his hands, barely visible in the light of day.

Then the thought crossed his mind unbidden that if he messed up, Noah would be dead. He couldn't do this kind of magic. Someone like him, who could potentially become one of the most frightening monsters the world had ever seen...

The faint light began to dim, and Odin's hands began to falter.

"Odin!" Frigg exclaimed. "Are you... doubting yourself?" she asked quietly.

When Odin's brows furrowed above his closed eyes, Frigg said with a faithful smile, "There's no need to fear, my dearest friend. If it's you, I know you can do _anything_ you set your mind on. Anything at all."

Odin opened his eyes and looked at Frigg for a moment. Seeing that heartened smile, he set his jaw and closed his eyes again, focusing his efforts anew.

This time, when the faint lavender light appeared from his hands, though not increasing in brightness, it did not fade. This seemed to at least slow what bleeding continued, and the pain of Noah's injuries seemed to have subsided ever so slightly.

That was when the doctor finally reached the cathedral and noticed the fledglings huddling around a familiar body. "Noah! Odin!" Dr. Crou cried out.

He swooped down and shifted back into his humanoid form and rushed over to them. "What on earth--" Dr. Crou looked at the boy's battered body. Then, he saw Odin, Frigg, and Loki trying their best to stop the bleeding. "Great job, you guys, I'll take it from here."

Loki stepped back immediately to get out of the doctor's way, while Frigg gave the gauze one last push before moving aside.

Odin opened his eyes and looked at Dr. Crou with an intent look, though he hesitated to move aside right away. "Do you... think you can save him?" he asked.

Dr. Crou gave Noah a quick scan before he pulled out his pocketwatch and placed it on Noah's forehead, just like he had with Lytha. Then with a click, Noah's body seemed to freeze. "The wounds are deep but don't seem to have hit any vital organs," Dr. Crou said. "Looks like he's suffering from blood loss, possibly nearing class 3. But don't worry; he will be alright."

Odin paused, and then removed his hands so that Dr. Crou could have better access to Noah's injuries. "Tell me what I can do," Odin said quietly, standing directly over Noah while still out of Dr. Crou's way. "If there's anything."

Dr. Crou looked more intently at the wounds. He then looked at Odin. "I will need clean water when I'm done. Also--"

He paused and gave a pat on Odin's shoulder. "Good job on the magic. Helped buy some more time." The doctor went back to focus on his patient, pulling back his gloves out of habit.

Odin only nodded soberly, and was about to go find a nearby clean water source when his friends held his shoulders from behind, nodding at him. He nodded back, and the three of them transformed into bird form, flying off to the nearest place they could get clean water.

Dr. Crou moved aside Noah's valise and satchel, trying to lay the boy's body flat without any obstruction. The long coat was bothersome but was useful as a mat, so the doctor tried his best to smooth it out underneath.

No sooner than Dr. Crou had finished laying Noah out flat and was ready to work, Odin and his two friends came running back toward them, each one with a bottle of clear water in their hands. "Alright, we got them," Odin said, the three of them placing the three full bottles down next to Dr. Crou. "What next?"

"Ah, perfect! Thank you; with this, I can clean the wounds." Dr. Crou took the bottles and opened one of them. From his pocket, he pulled out a handkerchief and soaked it with the water. Carefully, the doctor removed the makeshift gauze and dabbed at the blood and the wounds.

"Alright, looks like it's clean and there's no infection." Dr. Crou put aside the handkerchief and his gloves, bringing out a fresh new pair to work with.

"Okay, look carefully, you three. I will be using advanced healing magic on Noah. Noah is currently drained of energy and blood, so it will be harder to use basic magic to heal him properly."

Odin nodded, as did his two friends behind them. While keeping a safe distance from Noah, they huddled around and watched closely, with Odin observing particularly closely.

Dr. Crou hovered his hands above the opening of the cuts, first emitting an ash gray glow. He was testing how Noah's body was going to react with his magic, hoping that it wouldn't reject his magic.

At first it did, which Dr. Crou figured considering the different types of magic they both had and the fact that they originated from different worlds. He shifted the magic, changing its color gradually in a spectrum of colors, before settling on a bronze glow.

Finally finding the right "frequency", Dr. Crou let the light from his hands get brighter, focusing on the injured area. Soon the wound was visibly closing before their eyes.

Once it fully closed, Dr. Crou emitted a bright bronze light shine around Noah's body for a few seconds. The cuts on Noah's hands quickly healed and color returned to the boy's face. The light had dimmed from Dr. Crou's hands, and with that, the procedure was finished.

Dr. Crou checked the pocketwatch for time and clicked it off of Noah's head. Breathing came back to the boy, and he was sound asleep.

"Everything is good. And all we need to do now is get Noah to a bed to rest. We can bring him to my place. Now, if you guys can carry the rest of his stuff, that would be great."

With that, the three fledglings promptly picked up the rest of the things there, and they followed Dr. Crou to where Noah could rest up.


	88. In Which Noah Rests at Dr. Crou's Place

Noah's eyes slowly opened. There was a white ceiling and an IV rack over his head. The room was a simple one, with a wardrobe and a desk with a chair. Noah's bloody coat hung from the coat rack, while his valise and satchel sat underneath it. A small vase with yellow flowers rested by the window. The sun was streaming in through the sheer curtains.

Odin and his friends were sitting in a circle on the floor, a comfortable distance across the room. The three had been talking quietly amongst themselves, and at the moment hadn't noticed that Noah had regained consciousness.

Footsteps approached the door and Dr. Crou came in with a tray in hand. On it looked like a bowl and small pot of something, as well as a glass of water. He placed the tray on the desk and faced the bed to check on Noah's condition. "Hm? Are you awake, Noah?" he asked in a low voice.

The boy mumbled, "Where am I?"

"You're at my apartment. Odin and the others found you bleeding by the portal and gave us quite the scare," the doctor said.

"Wait, is he awake?" The three perked up when they heard the two start talking. They hurried over toward the doctor and Noah, almost popping their heads up beside Noah's bed, and a chorus of voices inquired his wellbeing.

"How are you feeling?"

"Do you hurt much?"

"How many fingers do you see?"

Noah sat up in a rush as the memories came rushing back to him. He looked down at his chest in a panic.

"Whoa there now, take it easy," Dr. Crou said. "Although the wounds are fully healed, your body lost a lot of blood. You were lucky that whatever it was didn't hit anything too serious."

"They've--they’ve healed? How long was I out?!"

"A few hours, give or take," Odin replied. "You can thank Dr. Crou's healing magic for your injuries being fixed up so fast."

He exhaled and relaxed. "Everyone else is safe from now on. That's what matters." He paused. "How... um, how is everyone?"

Odin sighed. "Fine, but there've been a few scares on our end, too."

"Scares?! Is Evanee okay? I shouldn't have left if you all needed me..."

Odin tilted his head. "I mean, Evanee wasn't exactly involved in it, so don't worry about that, but uh..." He paused, remembering briefly what Dr. Crou had told him recently, and continued, "Rumors went around that I was a 'demon child' or something, so we ravens couldn't go around the town freely for a while, and I even got attacked by some humans once."

"What? Who tried to attack you? Do you know their names?"

Odin shook his head. "Never saw 'em before, no idea who they were. But I doubt I'm gonna see them again, not after the scare they got in return from the one who rescued me from them -- a girl named Lilith."

He briefly explained how the girl was a human, but who came with a flock of other ravens, and wore raven feathers herself. "And she's been a bit of a mystery so far. I don't even know for sure where she is right now..." he said, though his conversation with Lucy came to mind.

"As for the rumors, they were luckily refuted by Siegfried and Rue, which seemed to quell the townspeople," Dr. Crou chimed in.

Noah narrowed his eyes. "Who would be so cruel as to blame you for something so vile?!"

Odin was silent for a moment, not sure how to respond.

Frigg looked at him, noticing that odd silence again. "Odin?"

Loki looked at Frigg for a moment, then at Odin, as if wordlessly asking the same question.

Dr. Crou looked at Odin and decided to comment. "This town did undergo some trauma against the Raven, which is still fresh in everyone's memory. The rumors understandably caused the people to panic."

"That... doesn't make sense," Noah said with confusion.

After a moment's hesitation, Odin took a breath and said, "There's a reason that they panicked about it this time." As Noah glanced at Odin with a smile, Odin tightened his lips, and went on, "Apparently they caught wind of something I didn't know before -- that not only am I from another world, but from this world's past, where a future 'me' also exists. And the 'me' that this world knew..." His voice faltered for just a moment, before finishing, "was the Raven. ... _That_ Raven."

Noah's smile faded. "Ignorance."

Odin blinked, mystified at his remark. "Huh?"

"Definitely the people were ignorant by clinging to the rumors, but would you care to explain what you meant, Noah?"

"You are not only from a different dimension, but a different time. For anyone to assume that the Raven is you is nothing but bigotry."

Odin's brows creased. "But... the Raven that was here came from the same world as I did... had the same past as I did. So, wouldn't that make me...?"

Noah sighed. "Get me a piece of paper and a pen."

Dr. Crou quickly passed a pen and paper off the desk to Noah.

"Time is like this piece of paper. If you look at it from one side, it is incredibly thin," he said, wiggling it on its side. "You can't do much with a sliver, but..." Noah turned to show the face of the paper. "You can do a lot with this, though. If you fold it over evenly, you get two identical halves." Noah does as such. "Now, if I take my pen and I draw on one side..." Noah squiggled a line, then opened up the paper. "...it leaves an impression on the other.

"This is what your path is like, Odin. Your present and the Raven's past may be identical, but there are only small traces here and there that match each other's. You can draw a different picture."

"There is one issue, though. And while I regret to say it, sometimes there is an impact so great that it is fixed--" Noah stabbed the pen through the paper. "--for both sides."

Dr. Crou nodded. "I see. Then I'm glad to say that the point when this world's Raven came to be does not seem to be a fixed point for Odin. Would have been nice to let Evanee know that when her prophecies were going awry."

"Evanee... No wonder she was so locked up in her thoughts before I left."

"She was pretty upset when you weren't around. Although it seems like she was able to get some help from a new girl in town."

Loki and Frigg looked at Odin, and Odin couldn't look them in the eyes at that moment -- though if he had, he would have seen that their looks were not of fear, or horror, or even shock; they were full of concern and worry for their good friend, of what had been weighing on him for the past number of days.

"Odin..." Noah said, looking at the young boy. "What I'm trying to say is, there is no telling what you will become, but you can't let the notions of others drive you to believe you only have one potential future. There are so many more; this paper can be folded over and over. What's most important is that you make your story. I don't know what points are fixed, but I sure as hell won't let you fall into the darkness without trying every possible future."

Odin glanced at him, his eyes inquiring with deep sincerity. "You really mean that?"

Noah took the sheets off his lap and walked up to Odin. "Of course I do. I haven't been sure of anything in a long time, but this is something I _am_ sure of."

Odin's eyes widened. He hadn't thought a human would ever say something like this to him. But without a doubt, looking up at Noah, Odin felt that he meant every word. Moved, he smiled gently and said, "Thanks, Noah."

Noah smiled. The Raven boy's eyes held the same hope as hers. He wouldn't let them down this time. He couldn't. Tears sprang to the surface of Noah's eyes. He felt like an older brother again.

Dr. Crou was warmed to see the two bond, Odin who had a hard time opening up to others, and Noah who was the same. Although different species, perhaps they could help each other as brothers.

After a few moments passed, Dr. Crou spoke up. "Alright, you two, as the doctor here, I would like it if Noah could get back to bed and rest. He did lose a lot of blood earlier today and it will take time to recover that," he said gently.

Noah gave a small chuckle. "Yes, sir, it is a comfy bed and I'll be happy to have a chance to be lazy. I'd love if others visited soon, I'd like to see everyone." Noah crawled back under the covers.

Odin and his friends grinned at each other, talking about how this place was right by the cafe, so it would be easy to come visit again. After which, they finally left Noah's bedside so he could have some quality time to rest and recover under Dr. Crou's watchful care -- though, it would certainly not be the last time they would come.


	89. In Which Lucy Discusses Lilith with the Ravens

It was a quiet afternoon in the cafe. Dr. Crou was keeping himself busy by polishing the wine glasses and silverware.

Odin and his two friends came into the cafe, chatting animatedly. They spotted Dr. Crou by the counter and waved at him. "Hey, Dr. Crou!" Odin said. "How's Noah been doing?"

"Hey Odin, Frigg, Loki," the doctor greeted them. "Noah is doing well. He's recovering quickly enough that he will be back in a few weeks or sooner."

"Good to hear," Loki said as the three of them took their seats at a nearby table. "Hope he won't get too _bored_ in the meanwhile, of course," he remarked wryly.

Dr. Crou chuckles. "Well, I did have to go to the library for some history books. But he did seem to be engrossed by a book he brought with him. Something about magical creatures..."

"He's the kinda human who's into books, huh?" Odin said. "Guess he'll have enough to do if you've got him some of those, then!"

Not too long after the three entered the café, a certain red-haired girl entered the café, too. Dr. Crou noticed something off about the girl, a crimson-hued magic surrounding her. He thought it felt familiar, but decided to keep quiet.

Odin noticed the jingle of the door open, and he looked to see who it was. He blinked, his eyes widening. "...Oh, Lucy? It's you."

Frigg glanced over at the newcomer. "Lucy? Is this one of the humans you've talked about?" she asked Odin.

Odin looked at Frigg. "Yeah, she's one of the ones I met here at the cafe once." To himself, he recalled the talk he had about Lilith, but said nothing about it aloud.

"Welcome, please have a seat. I will be with you momentarily," Dr. Crou greeted the girl; after all, he was still on duty.

"Alright, thank you..." Lucy said, looking at Odin and the other two ravens she had not seen before.

After that, she took a seat quietly. She would have wanted to instantly talk to Odin about what had happened, but she kept herself from doing so, since his friends were here, too.

Dr. Crou had cleared his things and walked over to Lucy's table. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. How may I help you?" he asked.

He was taken aback a bit as he got closer to her. The crimson magic seemed like a curse that surrounded her, rather than magic coming from within, and was similar to the twisted magic of the Raven's. However, Lucy didn't show any malicious intent; instead, she seemed very distressed about something.

"...Is something the matter, Miss?" he asked.

"I... am just a bit stressed about something, that is all."

Having seen Lucy again, and the Raven having been brought up recently, Lilith came to Odin's mind again. He thought about it, and realized that, perhaps, Lilith had something to do with the Raven, like the other people who had been cursed similarly by him. It would have explained why she had felt like a raven in some ways despite being a human, and yet felt... off.

The thought that some version of himself would have caused it in the first place, though, gave him pause. What did it really mean...? What would he have done to them exactly to make them like that? He knew there wasn't much point in speculating about it, but at that moment the thought wouldn't leave his mind.

Suddenly, Lucy slightly winced with pain. At that moment, the magic seemed to shift around her when she reacted.

"Are you alright!?" Dr. Crou exclaimed in alarm. "...The curse..."

"I'm... alright... I'm... I'm..." She shook her head. "No... if I were alright, this wouldn't happen..."

Odin and his friends turned around toward Lucy with bewilderment. "Are you all right...?" Frigg asked, puzzled and uneasy all at once.

"No... far from it," Lucy replied. "There's... something I need to tell you, Odin..."

Odin stared at her with a hint of concern on his face. "What's the matter...?" he asked.

"...I know there is one question burning on your mind. Lilith... right?"

Odin's eyes widened. "You... you were Lilith after all, weren't you?"

She sighed. "I suppose it is no secret anymore."

Frigg looked at Odin. "Wait, so _she_... is that Lilith you had talked about? The one who saved you that time?"

"I did not know why this has happened in the first place... my emotions suddenly reacted. And the next thing I knew, I was attacking townspeople to save him. One of them heavily bleeding, even. I... don't know what happened to me. And...I am deeply sorry for what happened... earlier. It just felt like... I was in some sort of trance. I couldn't control myself."

The three raven children looked at each other in shock.

"But you... you don't have any idea of how you got like this?" Odin asked. "How you... how you got cursed...?"

"No, I do not... it just... happened so suddenly..."

Odin was silent for a few moments. "Well... maybe... maybe I have something to do with it," he said with great hesitation. "Maybe it has something to do with why you came for me that time... or why you listened to me when I told you to stop."

Lucy was confused as how to Odin could have to do with it. But at the other hand, it could explain these events... "It is possible, certainly. I have to thank you for keeping me from making that mistake... but I still wonder... why did this emotional reaction happen? And, why me...?"

"I don't know why you, but the reason it happened... is that, however you were cursed, it was by... another version of me," Odin said slowly. "So, even if I personally had nothing to do with it, I think... I think I must have some sort of influence on it, somehow. Of course I had no idea of that before, though," he said quickly. "I had no idea I had anything to do with it..."

"Cursed by...another, probably more powerful version of you... I understand..." Now it made also sense to her why she was charged with such anger when the prince had been here.

"The curse around you seemed to shift when it affects you. Possibly during emotionally charged situations. This was probably what I was sensing when Prince Alex was here that day and you told him off." Dr. Crou frowned. "Although, I do not understand why it suddenly affected you right now..."

Odin was silent for a moment. "Is it because... I'm here...?"

"Possibly?" Dr. Crou said with puzzlement.

Odin's lips pressed together, his brow furrowed with concern. "If that's the case, what should I do to make it stop? I don't know how to control all this, but if I have to get far away from you, Lucy, or if there's something else I have to do..."

"With all due respect," Frigg spoke up, "Odin, you do not need to bar yourself from going places simply because someone else might be adversely affected by your mere presence."

"Your friend is right. I do not want to stop you from anything you have to do..."

"Well, it's actually not reacting right now," Dr. Crou noted. "Only a few moments ago it started to flare up."

"Just a little bit ago...?" Odin asked, thinking for a moment. "At that point, I was... thinking about Lilith, and who caused the curse, and it was really bothering me..." His eyes widened. "Wait, is that why...?!"

"... Did you accidentally try to summon Lilith?" Dr. Crou asked.

Odin blinked, shaking his head slowly. "At the very least, not on purpose... But I was thinking about her a lot at that moment, wondering where she was and if Lucy might be her or not..."

"I do not know, but I do not want to exclude it. There... has to be a way to control it, right?"

"Well, it is magic gained externally, but magic nonetheless. One needs to understand the conditions of the curse to fully control it."

Loki crossed his arms, frowning with concern. "Unfortunately, it's not like this curse is something we ravens would just know about. It sounds like it's something this Raven character invented on his own..."

"But... it's a type of blood curse, right?" Odin said pensively. "Not only that, but of _my_ blood... and if that's the case, if someone knows about blood magic, would they be able to tell us more about this?"

"Well, we can ask Princess Rue for help. She had the Raven's blood in her since she was a child and had a similar situation as you, Lucy."

That wasn't too much of a surprise to Lucy, considering Lytha had told her before that Rue used to be Kraehe... "I hope she can help me... I don't want to make another mistake."

"She did fight back the Raven became the Princess. I'm sure she can help you."

"Where... is she right now?"

"As for that..." Dr. Crou said hesitantly. "I actually don't know how to get to the Swan Kingdom, but if anything, Ahiru, Fakir, or Autor will know how to reach her. If we explain the situation, I'm sure they will be happy to help."

Odin paused. "Lucy... should I come with you?" Odin asked her. "I'm involved in this whether I like it or not, so... if you want me to go with you to see her, I'll do it."

"Are you sure? I do not want to separate you from your friends unnecessarily..." Lucy said. "Of course, we wouldn't be gone for too long, but...if you have something else to do, I can do it alone, too."

Odin bit his lip. "I mean, it's not too far, right?" he asked. "This is something kinda important for you, and it's not like there's something just as important I have to deal with right now..." He looked at Loki and Frigg. "Uh... you guys won't mind, will you?"

Loki cocked an eyebrow. "Since when do you need our permission to go places, Odin? If you just let us know when we oughta expect you back, that's good enough for me."

"I won't lie and say that I'm not worried about you..." Frigg said to Odin, hesitating. "...but there are some things you just have to do, and sometimes I can't be there with you, as much as I hate that fact." She glanced at Lucy keenly. "As long as you promise to make sure that Odin is safe during this mission of yours, Lucy?"

"I promise, he will not get hurt."

"I'll try to contacting someone about making an audience with Rue. Possibly Autor or Ahiru. That way you can properly prepare for the trip. But in the meantime, how about I take your order?"

At that moment, Odin's stomach growled loudly. "...Oh, I guess I'd better eat something, too," he said with a grin.

"A normal fruit-infused water would be nice, peach flavor. Anyways... thank you for your help."

On that lighter note, the group of them sat at their tables and dined, chatting about more inconsequential topics, and trying to get their minds off the heavier topic that had just been discussed -- they would have plenty of time to think about that again another day.


	90. In Which Natasha Meets Dr. Crou

It was another mid-morning after the coffee rush where Dr. Crou was humming to himself as he cleared the table. He wasn't wearing his disguise anymore, although he would put it on certain days to get used not having a beak.

The door rang open and a girl with cotton candy pink and purple ombre hair walked with a heavy satchel on her side. She stepped up to the bar stool counter and took a seat.

"Good morning, Miss. How may I help you today?" Dr. Crou said as he walked behind the counter.

"Good morning! I'll take a matcha latte with almond milk, please."

"Will that be hot or iced?"

"Hot, and can I get a biscotti too? Thanks!"

"Not a problem. I will get your order momentarily." Dr. Crou left, and after a while, came back with the latte and biscotti. "Here you are, Miss. Please enjoy."

"Thanks!" Natasha took a quick sip of her drink and a bite of her treat. She didn't have much to do today and felt the need for some small talk. She had seen this server here before on a couple of occasions but never had the chance to get to know him. With all the strange rumors going around (which she definitely knew the source of, cough) she wondered if it had affected this raven-headed man. "So has work been good lately?" she asked.

"Hm? Ah, yes, work is good. The customers seem to be livelier after the pamphlets Prince Siegfried and Princess Rue dispelled the rumors, which is much better for business."

"Ahaha, right, the rumors." Natasha felt nervous knowing it was Evanee's prophecies that seemed to have spread everywhere. "Well, that's good to hear."

"Speaking of business, I think I remember seeing a co-worker of mine with you the other day. Evanee?" Dr. Crou inquired thoughtfully. "How is she? I was wondering how she was doing since she switched to the night shift. Apollo said she was dealing with personal issues and needed a less stressful shift."

Natasha clasped her hands together. "Oh, you know Evanee! Evanee's doing fine--well, I mean, she's getting better. I'm helping her get back on her feet. She's been dealing with lots of issues and taking care of herself one step at a time."

"I see, that's great to hear. I guess I can tell you that I know she has those prophecy powers, and those rumors definitely had gotten out of control. While I can't put complete blame on her, I was upset about it nonetheless."

"Urk! Oh, so you knew about that, too..."

Dr. Crou nodded. "That's right. The rumors were surrounding a fledgling that is under my care, so you can see where I'm coming from."

Natasha clasped her hands and lowered her head. "On Evanee's behalf as an older sister, I deeply apologize for the harm brought about those rumors," she said. "I will see to it in the future that such events do not occur again."

Dr. Crou was surprised to say the least. He didn't expect her to try and take responsibility for something that was out of their control. "Ah, no need for the formal gesture, but I do appreciate it. Just, do watch out for Evanee for me. She needs all the help she can get."

Natasha raised her head and nodded earnestly. "Yes, that I am planning to do!"

Dr. Crou chuckled. "Well, I'm glad someone like you was able to reach out to her." He paused for a moment, realizing something. "I'm sorry; I'm Dr. Crou by the way. I don't think caught your name, Miss--?"

"Natasha, Natasha Gardener at your service." She reached out a hand and the two shook hands.

"Well met, Miss Gardner."

"You can call me Natasha if you want, Doctor."

"Alright, if you say so. By the way, Miss Natasha, what kind of work do you do? You usually seem so busy on other occasions you came here."

"Well, I'm a merchant in a sense, but more for witches and other magical clients. Ever since Kinkan town had woken up from its Spinner slumber, I've been networking with some businesses around the area who couldn't get into or outside of the town."

"Huh, you don't say. So you are native around here?"

"Not really; I'm actually from the Storybook Forest -- not the forbidden one, mind you. So I'm more familiar with the Swan Kingdom or the Lionheart kingdom."

"Fascinating. I'm not from around here, so all of this is very new to me," Dr. Crou replied.

"If you don't mind me asking--"

The two continued on their conversation, asking about their respective homes and cultures. They also talked about how they liked it here in Kinkan, the people they had met, and the magic they had, becoming fast friends.


	91. In Which Lytha, Evanee, and Natasha Visit Noah

Lytha headed for Noah's resting after hearing from Dr. Crou that Noah was back. Lytha walked to the bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Noah said.

Lytha entered the room. "Been a while, Noah," she said. "How are you?"

"Lytha!" Noah pushed himself up from the bed. "How did you--erg--find out I was back?"

"Whoa! Calm down, Noah, you should be resting," Lytha said. "I heard from Dr. Crou that you were back and had gotten injured."

"Right, right. I lost too much blood or whatever... how are things?"

"...I'm sure you heard about the cursed child."

"Ominous way to put it, especially since it's a friend, but yes."

"Well, after Evanee found out that the ones who spread the rumors were the twins, she blamed herself and started avoiding me, locking herself in her house," Lytha said. "I feel so terrible... so much for being her 'best friend' when I can't even help her now."

"She’s been locking herself in her house?!"

"...Yes."

"Damn. I shouldn't have left her, then; I was so wrapped up in jealousy that I didn't even realize what she was going through."

"Speaking of, you don't have to worry about Leo anymore, so go ahead and court Evanee."

Noah looked confused. "Did he leave or something?"

"Nope, we got together," Lytha replied.

Noah sighed. "Evanee isn't interested."

"But she was kind of missing you when you left, if that makes you feel better."

Noah punched the side table. "I should've been here! For Odin and Crou, for Evanee!"

"Noah, calm down."

He brushed back his hair. "I'm such a failure. Just when someone gets in trouble I'm never there."

Lytha flicked Noah's forehead.

"Hey!"

"Getting angry and feeling like a failure is not going to help; besides you are here now, so you can still help Evanee."

"I don't even think she'd want to talk to me... I kinda stormed out on her last time."

"You should still talk with her and explain it to her, and I'm sure she will understand," Lytha said. "It just takes time."

"Yeah, well, I can't really talk to her while hooked to an IV."

"Then why don't I bring her to you?" Lytha smiled.

"I--but don't force her to see me if she doesn't want to..."

Lytha gently grabbed Noah's shoulder. "She will come; trust her, and trust me."

He nodded, unsure but trusting of Lytha.

"You know, you sure are one lucky guy to survive an attack like this." Lytha stood up. "Well, let me go get Evanee; I will be back. For now, rest before she arrives." Lytha left Noah to rest while she went to the cafe looking for Evanee.

~~~~~~~~~

Evanee threw the towel back in the bucket. She had been working the night shift, and it was good to finally see light outside for once. Natasha was sitting to the side sipping her coffee while looking at paperwork.

"Did you get the one you were talking about done, Natasha?" Evanee asked her.

"No, not really...I can't seem to find this person anywhere. The only reason why they are on my list is that the elder recommended them. I don't know why it's so hard to find one fortuneteller," Natasha grumbled at the piece of paper.

Lytha entered the cafe. "Evanee..." Lytha began.

"Huh? Hi, Lytha! Evanee, your bestie is here~" Natasha said.

"Hi, Natasha," Lytha smiled. "Umm... Evanee can we... talk?"

"Hm? Yeah," Evanee put down her tray.

Lytha bows 90°. "I'd like to apologize for the twins about the rumor."

"Enough with the bowing; it wasn't your fault. I thought you told someone who started the mill, but you had nothing to do with it. I'll always forgive you."

Lytha stands up straight. "Thanks, Evanee," Lytha smiled. "Also, Noah is back and he is badly injured. I was hoping you would go see him."

"He's WHAT?!"

Natasha was startled at Evanee's outburst. "Ah! What happened?"

Evanee looked over at one of her co-workers. "Diane, can you cover my shift? I'm done in an hour anyway."

When the girl nodded, Evanee rushed to take off her apron. "Where is he?!"

"Come on, he is in Dr. Crou's house," Lytha said.

"Nat, you coming?" Evanee asked.

"Sure, why not?" she said as she quickly put away her things.

With that, the three girls left the cafe.

~~~~~~~~~

Lytha knocked on Noah's bedroom door with Evanee and Natasha behind her.

"Hey, Noah, look who is here to visit?" Lytha opened the door to let Evanee and Natasha enter.

Noah froze. She actually came. And were those... tears in her eyes?

He didn't have much time to figure out as much, since Evanee practically rushed to his bedside. She couldn't stop herself from throwing her arms around him, which received from him an 'oof'.

"Sorry..." Evanee began.

"It's okay... are you?"

She sat at the edge of his bed. "I'm sorry. I’m sorry I caused you to storm out and I'm sorry you got hurt because of it."

"Man, I should be a matchmaker," Lytha thought aloud quietly.

Natasha overheard Lytha's comments and leaned over. "Girl, it's waaay too obvious," Natasha whispered.

"Haha!" Lytha laughed.

Lytha walked behind Evanee. "Careful, Evanee, Noah's wounds are deep."

"Right! Sorry, did I hurt you?!"

"It's fine, Evanee. You didn't cause me to storm out; you were stressed. I just visited home for a bit. Crou healed up all my wounds -- I'm just low on blood right now."

Lytha smirked at Noah and gave him an expression of 'I told you so'.

"Home? How come you never talk about it?" Evanee asked.

"...It doesn’t necessarily bring up good memories," Noah said, looking to the side.

"Oh..."

An awkward silence surrounded the two.

"Well, Noah, can I ask how you got the wound?" Lytha said.

He scratched his head. "Got into a bar fight, wounded me pretty bad." God, he hoped he wouldn't see through the lie. He didn't want them to worry.

"Uh-huh," Lytha said, not convinced, but she didn't push it. "Oh right, Noah, this is Natasha -- Natasha, this is Noah."

Natasha waves feebly to the side. She kinda felt the odd one out in this scenario. "Hi, nice to meet you!"

"Oh, hello. You have wonderful hair!"

"Why thank you! Evanee said a similar thing when we first met." Natasha smiles at the compliment. "If you weren't bedridden, I would have commented on how cute you look myself."

"... _Okayyyy..."_ Lytha said.

"Haha... well, thank you, I suppose," Noah was sure his cheeks were now the same color as Natasha's roots.

Leo walked into the room with a get-well basket. "Hi there, Noah."

Noah suppressed his typical groan. "Hello, Leo. I heard about your engagement; congrats."

"Huh? Engagement?" Leo asked.

"Yes, of course. The wedding is in two days, after all," Noah said.

Natasha smirked and followed Noah's cue. "Right! Congratulations, you two! I'll get to be the bridesmaid, right?"

"And I, yes?" Evanee added with a grin.

"Might as well give me the rings now, I'd love to be the ring bearer," Noah said, then paused. "Wait!! That should be Apollo's job!"

"I think the little kid that follows Dr. Crou around would be better -- don't you think so, Lytha?" Natasha remarked.

"Stop teasing, you guys..." Lytha was bright red.

Evanee burst into laughter, and after calming down a little, she turned back to the bed. "Hey, Noah?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really glad you're back, and I'm really glad you're okay."

Lytha slightly giggled. Natasha looked at the two and had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Evanee looked down at her shoes, fiddling with her fingers. "It's recently come to my attention that I've been... seeing things wrong, and I really think I've been taking you for granted--I just, I just didn't think you'd come back, and--"

Before she could finish her choked-up sentence, Noah had gotten out of his bed and pulled her into a hug.

Lytha was quietly taking metaphorical photos in the back. "Oooh, this is getting good."

Natasha stifled a smirk. _Well, this could get interesting..._

Evanee's sobs stifled into his shirt as she wrapped her arms around his waist in return. After a short while, she cleared her throat and stepped away. "You should probably lay back down, Noah."

"I will be right back," Lytha left the room.

Leo placed his basket on the nearby table. "Well, I'm here just to say get well soon, and also my parents are asking me to invite my friends to a dinner party. All of you are welcome to attend."

"Dinner party?" Noah asked.

"Yes."

"Ah, thanks for the invitation, Leo. What is the occasion?" Natasha asked.

"...For getting a girlfriend..." Leo's cheeks were slightly pink.

"Ah," Evanee smiled. "What a smitten kitten."

"Anyways, when Noah is feeling better, we can have the party. I better leave now; I got some things to do." Leo walked out the door promptly, still flushed.

"Cya later, Leo!" Natasha waved goodbye.

Shortly after Leo had left, Lytha walked back in. "Soooo, why was Leo blushing?"

"Hm? You didn't ask him? We only asked what his dinner party was for, to which he replied--" Natasha put on her best Leo voice and face. "'...For getting a girlfriend.'"

"Pfft, ahahhahahha, that's a good impression of Leo, Natasha," Lytha said, laughing. "But yeah, I know about the dinner. He can be a tad shy when it comes to the word 'girlfriend'."

"I don't think he's shy; I think he's just embarrassed he has someone as amazing as you," Evanee remarked.

"I'm just a normal shoemaker girl, there is nothing amazing about me."

"Aww, don't say that, sweetie. What your occupation is doesn't detract from who you really are." Natasha gave a small smile to Lytha.

"Thanks, Natasha," Lytha smiled back. "Welp, see you two, I better get back to my boyfriend. Byeeee!" Lytha exited the room, waving goodbye.

Natasha headed towards the door also. "Looks like you have a lot to catch up about, so I'll leave you two alone. Cya~!" And she headed out, looking back with a knowing smile that they probably wanted that.


	92. In Which Lisa and Liam Apologize to Odin

Not too long after the girls had left the cafe for Noah's bedside, another trio entered the cafe, that of three raven children talking with each other casually. They took their seats around one of the tables and continued chatting as they waited for a waiter to take their orders.

"Well, I for one am relieved that this town's prince and princess dispelled those horrid rumors," Frigg said indignantly. "Look at what trouble it's caused. Humans are foolish enough already, so why would someone tempt them to be even greater fools?"

"But hey, that's all in the past, right?" Odin said. "Things are back to normal now. And we can come to this cafe whenever we want, where there's food aplenty. You'd have to admit, that's better than our situation at home, isn't it?"

The twins entered the cafe to help their father buy some food, and saw Odin and his friends.

Odin glanced at the door to see who had entered, and saw the twins. "Oh hey, Lisa, Liam," he said to them as they walked up to him. "Haven't seen you two around in a while."

"Brother Odin, we want to say sorry."

Odin tilted his head. "For what?"

"...We were the ones who told the people about the rumors."

Odin blinked, and looked pensive. "Oh, really? You did...?"

After a moment, he looked at them without smiling, but when he spoke, his voice was calm. "Then, tell me... why did you say that stuff? What were you trying to do?"

Frigg was about to speak up, but Odin held up a hand insistently, and she fell silent.

"We just wanted to help Sissy, after hearing their talk, Sissy cried. So we asked around to try help Sissy, but... we made them mad." The twins bowed. "We are sorry, Brother Odin."

Loki and Frigg looked at Odin as he closed his eyes and sighed. Then he looked at them again and asked, "You didn't tell them to attack me, right? You didn't say that they should come after me, did you?"

"No..."

After hearing this, Odin nodded, still not smiling, but his expression was without hostility. "Then it's okay; I forgive you. You were just trying to look out for your big sister. It's those humans' fault for attacking me, not yours."

"Brother Odin is not mad anymore?"

Odin paused, looking thoughtful. "I wasn't really mad at you two in the first place. Honestly, I was just... kinda hurt that someone would think that about me, even when I thought we were friends." He looked at them. "But, are you... still not scared of me?"

The twins looked at each other and then looked back at Odin. "Nope, Brother Odin is funny and cool. We want to be your friend," the twins said, smiling.

Upon hearing this, Odin gave them a small smile. "Then, I do too. Let's just forget about all that dumb stuff, and go back to doing fun things, okay?"

"Okay!" The twins said, grinning. "Oh, Sissy said to treat you to food so you feel better."

All three of them looked surprised. "Really? She did?" Odin asked, touching a finger to his chin curiously. "Well, I'm not one to say no to a treat from Lytha! Tell her thanks for me."

"Sissy said 'Tell Odin he can order whatever he wants'."

Odin rubbed his hands together and glanced at his two raven friends happily. "Alright, you heard them! Let's have a feast today!"

Loki and Frigg glanced at each other. Frigg sighed while Loki shrugged. "Well, if she's offering, we'll take it!" Loki said.

Frigg looked at the little kids with hesitance. "Just remember to be careful what you say to other humans from now on," she said. "You know what foolish things they can do now based on the silliest of notions."

"Okay," the twins replied.

The twins went to the counter and placed a lot of money on the table, telling the cashier that it was for Odin's table for whatever food they ordered. The cashier told one of the waiters about the payment, and the waiter came over to the three's table to take their orders.

Before giving their orders, Odin glanced over at the twins and said, "You'll be off now, right? See you later then, and thanks again!"

"Bye bye, Brother Odin and his friends, enjoy your meal!"

The twins waved goodbye to the three and left the cafe.


	93. In Which Sagi and Dr. Crou Talk in the Cafe

One afternoon, Dr. Crou sat leisurely next to the window whilst reading a book in one hand and drinking his tea in the other. He was off duty today and came back from running errands, so he could use the time off. He hummed to himself as he enjoyed his book.

Sagi entered the cafe once again, the familiar jingle sounding as she walked in. She glanced around, about to find a place to sit, when she spotted Dr. Crou sitting at one of the tables.

"Oh! Dr. Crou, you're here today," she said, approaching him and standing by his table. "Off duty for now, it looks like?"

"Ah, hello there, Miss Sagi. Yes, I'm off right now. How are you this afternoon?"

"All right, I suppose..." she said, trailing off. "I suppose I can't help but be worried about Odin, after hearing about the attack. At least the commotion seems to have died down now, right...?"

"Yes, quite glad that it did. I even had to get a human disguise for how troublesome it was getting. Thankfully Prince Siegfried and Princess Rue were able to deal with the situation," Dr. Crou grumbled a bit, remembering the inconvenience. "Ah, I'm sorry. You can have a seat if you like, Miss Sagi. Nobody's sitting there," he said, motioning to the chair in front of him.

Sagi nodded, taking the seat he offered her. "Thank you. A human disguise, you say? Do you mean, as in, a magical alternate guise? I imagine it would be hard to disguise yourself as one simply with make-up or costumes..."

"Haha, yes, it would be very difficult to put on a mask and hope other humans will be fooled. I ended up getting the magical disguise from a friend of mine. She never got to develop that magic during the war, but she was willing to help me for this occasion."

Dr. Crou looked down at his bangle and started to clip it securely around his wrist. With a glow of light, the raven headed man took on a human face and features.

"So, you have some sort of magical--!"

When Sagi saw Dr. Crou put on the bracelet and suddenly having a human face (a fairly attractive one at that), she gasped in surprise -- except it didn't come out as a gasp, but a hoarse "squawk!"

She covered her mouth in alarm, but an exasperated expression could be briefly seen on her face before in a burst of blue sparkles, she disappeared under her clothing, standing only a few feet tall above the ground, barely visible above the table.

"Ah! Miss Sagi, are you alright?" Dr Crou said in alarm.

Sagi the heron struggled to get out from underneath her school uniform, until she finally managed to get her head through her blouse. Instead of a blue-haired girl, though, a heron's head popped out instead. In the language of birds, Sagi sighed. "Oh, dear me, this is so terribly embarrassing!"

The (human) doctor looked at Sagi with an innocent but dumbfounded expression that you wouldn't see on his usual form, before he let out a small chuckle. "I see, so that's what the transformation magic was."

Sagi, now only four-and-a-half feet tall, craned her neck up at Dr. Crou and blinked at him puzzledly. "Eh? Did you... already know about this...?"

"Well, I noticed you had some sort of magic cloaked around you. It wasn't the signature of a curse and it seemed similar to the shapeshifters at home. I just didn't know what your original form was."

Sagi sighed again. "Well... I suppose you know now. Pardon me, I... was quite startled by that. I change back if I make a sound like that, which normally doesn't happen, but..."

Shaking off the rest of her clothing and draping it around her neck, she stood up and said, "It's all right, I can change back easily, I'll just need to get to the restroom to change clothes." She glanced around uneasily. "...As long as the cafe staff don't notice a bird sneaking into the bathroom..."

"Well, the manager is a polar bear, so I believe you'll be fine."

"I suppose you're right..." Sagi said. "I'm used to being careful in other cases." She paused, then added, "Not... that it happens often or anything like that!"

Without further ado, she strode across the cafe floor toward the restroom in the back, which fortunately had an open entrance that didn't need her to open a door. Though she seemed calm and unperturbed, if one looked at her body language, she was clearly quite abashed at her dramatic gaffe, and wanted to rectify it as soon as was (humanly?) possible.

Several minutes later, Sagi came walking back out of the bathroom with her school uniform back on her as it was intended, still looking slightly mortified. She sat back down on her seat, brushed off her lap, and took a breath. "....All right, I'm back," she said, trying to regain her calm demeanor. "Umm, where were we...?"

"Erm, about transformations. If you feel uncomfortable, I will change back."

Sagi shook her head, looking at him. "No, please make yourself comfortable. Don't go out of your way on my account. You... do look good that way, I admit."

"Oh? I guess the looks I got from the customers weren't what I thought, then," Dr. Crou mused to himself, a grin forming as he chuckled again.

She paused, looking thoughtful. "Though, besides that, I feel like I can see your expressions easier."

"Well, I guess I will be polite. I guess, having a human form makes it easier to interact with other humans."

Sagi nodded. "That's certainly been my experience. Though, for me, there are many things humans do on a regular basis that I simply can't do as a bird, so... even if this isn't my original form, I've spent most of recent days in it."

"I see. I still have to get used to this form as I sometimes forget that I do not have a beak. I use it more often during work as practice, but not as often after the rumors died down."

Sagi gave a small grin. "You do have use of hands and a human body in your original form. That makes a number of things much easier, practically speaking." She glanced into the distance. "Not that I don't miss spending time at the lake sometimes, catching fish like I used to. Or flying..." She sighed. "But one can't have everything, and there's so much more I have here than at the lake."

"Yes, I suppose having a humanoid form does make it easier. But you still have your bird form, do you not? It's not like it is lost to you forever."

"No, I know..." Sagi said, shaking her head. "It's just... they're two very different worlds, the lake and the town. They're even in two separate places. And, sometimes..." Her expression sobered, as if remembering something unpleasant. "...the lake reminds me of times I'd rather not revisit."

The doctor looks at Sagi's expression and thoughtfully considers the question. "Is it something you would like to share?"

Sagi exhaled, taking a sip of a glass of water that had been there at one of the previously empty spots on the table. "Well, in particular, when I see the lake, sitting on the dock where Ahiru and Fakir used to fish, I think of what was happening when I sat there last -- when I doubted myself on something I truly believed in. Or rather... someone."

"Is that someone the older Odin of this world?"

Sagi nodded, gazing down at the table. "It was... right after my friends found out that when he was injured, without any memory of who he was, I hid him from them -- to protect him. As I sat on that dock, I thought: I'm not meant to meddle in these matters. What would I, a heron, know of fate and darkness of the heart?"

Sagi closed her eyes tightly, as if wincing away tears that might have formed. "The whole time, before he lost his memories, and after he regained them again, he was trying to return his 'own' shards, to restore the Raven to his former might -- his former terror.

"One of those shards named Agony, we managed to find before he could... but, it held curses so potent that for some reason, of all our friends, only I could stand to hold it for more than a moment. It wore away at me, too, in time... and when I couldn't hold it anymore, Odin took it back. He tried to conquer it, to not let it take hold of him -- but for all his efforts, in the end it was in vain."

Dr. Crou could only nod, for he had seen how much pain the soldier had been in before they had cleansed it. He couldn't comprehend holding it in his hands as a crystalized form of pure emotion. He was also amazed at how Sagi was about to withstand it from what she had said.

However..."He couldn't overcome the heart shard?"

"The Agony shard was relentless -- it threatened to engulf whoever came into its path, as it did when we tried to destroy it. Prince Mytho tried to destroy it with his sword that could shatter hearts, but it briefly possessed him instead. While Princess Tutu was able to remove the shard from the prince, as it was not his to begin with, when the Agony shard embedded itself into Odin's heart, it...." Her voice broke slightly. "...it couldn't be removed, as the shard was with whom it belonged."

Dr. Crou swallowed, as he realized what that moment had meant. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the other Odin, for the long and terrible journey he ended up taking and having to relive all the pain again at once. It was strange that since the doctor started learning more about Odin, past and present, the more he was able to distance him from his previous relationship of the Raven from his world. "Nobody could ease the pain?"

Sagi closed her eyes, tightening her lips. "He didn't believe the pain could ever be alleviated... and so, the only thing he could think to do was return himself to a state where that didn't matter, that nothing else mattered except consuming pure heart after pure heart -- even if that meant he would suffer forever." She shook her head, clenching her hands, which were trembling ever so slightly. "I tried, over and over, to tell him, _beg_ him, to stop, to not do this to himself, but... for ever so short of a time, he succeeded in returning the Raven into being. But then, something incredible happened."

Sagi looked at Dr. Crou, a mystified expression on her face. "The Raven's shards, you see... some of them were scattered about the town, and he collected them -- but the rest of them ended up being within Odin's own heart. And, to restore the Raven... he needed to shatter his own heart to separate the shards of the Raven from the shards that were created anew when he was reborn, and gather the Raven's original shards together, discarding the rest.

"After he succeeded in this, however, the shards that the Raven had discarded took visible form, at first a crimson image of Odin, and then... a great crimson raven who then rose up against the Raven himself."

"So in a sense, the crimson raven was Odin's true self and was able to fight the Raven back? That kid..."

Dr. Crou remembered when Baba Yaga mentioned Odin's potential; perhaps that event showed it.

"But, he wasn't able to defeat the Raven. He was almost swiftly destroyed by the Raven when he tried to face him on his own, and was saved by none other than the prince and princess also fighting the Raven. Then, someone with the power to bend reality took the Raven, along with all the rest of him, into a place called the Loophole in Time, and somehow, I was taken with them.

"There, Odin himself lay, mortally wounded, and I thought... I thought he would die, even after those shards returned to him," she said, her hand going to her mouth. "Those shards were kind, and gentle, but had no desire to go on, no strong will to live that I knew was such a core part of Odin. He said himself, his will to live 'resided with his other self'..."

_No strong will to live..._ Dr. Crou wondered if the other self, the Raven, had took all the emotions it deemed useful and strong, discarding the so-called "weak" emotions. "I will be assuming somehow Odin came out of this... victorious in some way. How did that happen?"

Sagi clasped her hands together pensively. "Even now I don't know that I quite understand what happened, but I can tell you what I witnessed...

"Just as Odin was about to slip away forever, the Raven showed himself. I feared he was going to try to destroy Odin, but instead he said that... he realized that his 'human' self was never a 'human' at all, but was in fact what he had been searching for this whole time. And then, in a flash of light, the Raven disappeared. Odin's wounds sealed back up, and he awoke, as if he had simply been asleep," Sagi said, seeming in disbelief even now. "And this Odin... seemed most like himself than I'd ever seen him. As if he was finally... complete."

Dr. Crou was not sure either what that scene meant either; however, it sounded like both sides needed to come together to restore Odin. "That was quite the ordeal you all had gone through. I'm sorry you had to go through that," he finally said. "I see why remembering such memories from what things others would find more mundane, would be rather unpleasant. ...To say the least."

"It's an important memory, so I wouldn't want to forget it," Sagi said, "but that doesn't keep it from being upsetting when I recall it."

She exhaled, seemingly in relief. "But that's also why I'm so glad, now, that he -- both this world's Odin and the child Odin -- are finding their way again," she said, a hint of a smile on her face. "Because I know -- if he sets his mind to something, nothing can keep him from accomplishing it."

Dr. Crou smiled, finally taking a sip of his tea. "That, I'm sure they both will do."


	94. In Which Lucy and Odin Travel to the Fairy Tale World

It was high noon in Kinkan, and Lucy had just arrived at the cathedral. Earlier conversations with Odin and Crou suggested that Odin and she should meet Ahiru and Fakir there, as they would from there on travel into the storybook dimension. Lucy was somewhat nervous; however, she ignored it as she made her way to the cathedral, arriving shortly after.

Shortly after Lucy had arrived, a little raven came flying in toward the entrance. As it flew down towards the large doors, in a flurry of raven feathers the boy Odin came into view. "Oh, you're here already. You haven't been waiting long, I hope?"

"I arrived less than a minute ago, so not really."

Odin glanced up at the cathedral. "Well, I guess we should get up to the tower, since that's where they said was the gate between our worlds." He looked thoughtful. "Weird that it's the same as my world, but from what could have been in my future..."

"I'll be honest with you, I have no idea what to expect. And... I am quite nervous, too..."

"Y'know, I really don't either," Odin said, looking at her. "There's a lot of things I'm not sure about, or how it'll all turn out. But, I think these people are all our friends -- or at least, not our enemies -- and will help us if we ask. So... let's just think of that."

"You're right. Let's go, then."

With that, the two of them headed into the cathedral and up the stairs to the top of the church tower, where Ahiru, Fakir, and Komaro stood waiting.

Taking out a pocketwatch after seeing the pair arrive at the top, Komaro looked at it for a moment and said, "Good, we're more or less on schedule."

Ahiru waved at Odin and Lucy with a warm smile. "Hey, how are you guys doing?"

"Eh, somewhat good I suppose. Just... very nervous."

"Ah, there's nothing to worry about. Rue will definitely be able to help you, Lucy!"

"I really hope so. Either way... how do we get to that 'Swan Kingdom'?"

"Well, now you're here, I can call the carriage down, and have us be swiftly on our way," Komaro said.

With that, he stepped out onto the balcony, held up his hands, and clapped twice.

In a few moments, a flutter of wings sounded in the air, and a white pearlite carriage drawn by a pair of swans floated down from the sky, hovering over the balcony within easy stepping distance from those standing there.

Odin glanced at their escorts, a redheaded girl and a tan-skinned young man with a ponytail. He considered saying something to them, but decided it could wait until they were on their way, and wordlessly stepped into the carriage, which Komaro courteously ushered him onto. Lucy was a bit surprised at the flying swans, but nonetheless stepped into the carriage as well.

Lastly, Ahiru and Fakir stepped into the carriage. Ahiru looked giddy with excitement, while Fakir was a bit aloof and didn't say anything as they boarded the carriage.

Having gotten everyone aboard, Komaro himself climbed onto the front of the carriage and took the reins, though he didn't appear to need to direct the swans personally, as all he did was lightly shake the reins and say, "All right, it's time to go."

Seeming to respond to his instruction, the swans promptly flapped their wings and lifted them into the air, as if their carriage that held five people weighed no more than a cloud.

As they took off upward into the sky, there was a "fwoosh!" in the air that sounded and felt like the pages of countless books being shuffled at the same time, and with the briefest appearance of a gear that the carriage flew into, on the other side they came out to a world full of color and magic -- not unlike Odin's was, but this world seemed somehow more at ease.

They now hovered above a dirt path beside a pristine lake, in the distance of which lay a magnificent castle.

"Welcome to the Swan Kingdom, honored guests," Komaro said with a polite gesture toward the castle. "Let us continue onward, but take some time to enjoy the scenery as we go along." He glanced out at it himself for a moment. "I know it amazed me when I first saw this view."

Lucy gazed at the scenery and couldn't trust her eyes. It looked just as was described in many storybooks -- a wondrous land and a giant castle, like in a real fairy tale.

Odin glanced around with awe, though not for quite the same reason. _I've never been let this close to the human kingdom's royal castle before... and now I'm about to go in,_ he thought. _This almost seems like a different world from the forest tree roost I know. I wonder what the humans around will say when they see a raven going into the castle..._

The carriage began to move again, but at a leisurely pace that allowed them to take their time to look around them on the way.

Lucy, in the meantime, had her own thoughts while she continued watching the scenery. How would the princess react? How would the meeting be in general? While she was still nervous, she was nonetheless looking forward to that conversation.

Ahiru stared at awe at the beautiful white castle at the edge of the lake, mirrored perfectly in its waters. "Fakir! Fakir! It looks just like the one in the book, but even better!"

"Yeah--" Fakir also stared at the view, feeling overwhelmed by the feeling of actually visiting the land of the fairy tale Prince that he had read so many times as a young boy. Although he tried to play it cool before coming here, there was a bit of excitement in his eyes as he looked onward at the castle.

As they approached closer, Lucy took another good look at the castle. She still somewhat was in disbelief, but she also had to focus. After all, they were not here to have fun...

Odin was silent for a moment, considering something. Then he spoke. "So, you two," he addressed Ahiru and Fakir. "You've never been to this world before, it looks like. The prince and princess are your friends, which is why you're coming with us, right?"

"Yup! We always did want to come here, but neither of us nor Rue or Mytho had the time ever since the events after the Story ended. Oh--! And the fact that the two had been busy with things around the kingdom, such as the Prince Alex incident."

"And this world is basically from a story to you, huh?" Odin asked. "I guess I'd be pretty amazed then, too, going to a place I'd only ever heard about in fantasies."

"Hahaha, I guess you can say that. Our town was actually part of a story too, which is still a bit hard to believe."

As the carriage began pulling up close to the castle, Ahiru added, "Oh, look! Looks like we are about to land."

They were finally coming upon the front entrance of the castle, whereupon their arrival was welcomed by a drawbridge that lowered itself upon the carriage's approach. From within, Rue and Mytho walked out from the drawbridge to receive their friends.

Excited to see her friends, Ahiru instinctively started to wave wildly at the royal couple. "Rue-chan! Mytho!"

Upon seeing Ahiru's smiling face, Rue smiled in return and waved delicately at her. "Ahiru, Fakir, welcome. We've been meaning to invite you two here sooner, but I'm sure you're aware of the various matters we've had to handle the past few months."

Mytho also smiled and nodded warmly at his friends. "I'm glad to see you all again, even if it hasn't been that long," Mytho said. "It's high time we had you here to visit. Though, I know that the occasion is not quite as carefree as I would have liked..." he trailed off, glancing at Lucy and Odin in the carriage.

Komaro got off the carriage and nodded at Mytho. "I will prepare the castle to receive our guests, if there is nothing you require at this time," Komaro said.

Mytho nodded back at Komaro, and the chamberlain went promptly into the castle, seemingly intent on making their visit as hospitable as possible.

Odin was getting out of the carriage when he caught sight of Rue. His eyes widened. "Say, if I didn't know better, I'd swear you were actually a raven! Even if you're actually a human, you look a lot like a raven in human form."

Ahiru stammered, "Ah, Odin... Uh, that's because, well--how do we put it--?"

Rue blinked, and glanced at Odin with startlement. Her eyes widened, and her lips tightened. "...You... must be Odin, then?" she said slowly, keeping her air as neutral and calm as she could.

Odin pouted a little. "Take it as a compliment," he said, pursing his lips. "You just look a lot like one of my raven friends, if she were older."

Fakir stood to the side, not sure how to react to Odin's comment. Lucy had by now also gotten out of the carriage, staying quiet for now.

Odin sighed, recalling what Dr. Crou had told him about the whole story from the town, and that these were the same people. _The Raven's daughter..._ he thought, suddenly not able to look Rue in the eyes. _I wonder if I remind her of...?_

Then Fakir spoke up. "Mytho, Rue. I hope you read the letter I sent you explaining Dr. Crou's request for Lucy and Odin to meet you. Should we go inside now to discuss things further?"

Mytho nodded at Fakir. "Yes, we're aware of the situation. Let's convene in a more private setting inside, where we may discuss without undue interruption."

With that, the group made their way to a quiet but comfortable room inside the castle, settling themselves down as the servants prepared the room and then left the group to themselves, closing the doors behind them.

Ahiru and Fakir split up with them in the lobby where Komaro was waiting, and he proceeded to show them around the castle and its grounds as the rest of them headed for a quiet room to discuss the reason for their visit.


	95. In Which Lucy Talks With Rue About the Raven's Blood

"So..." Rue said, taking one of the cups of hot tea that the servants had placed on the table between the royal pair and Lucy and Odin, the latter two of whom sat across from them. "Lucy, correct?" she asked the redhead. "You are the main reason we're sitting for this meeting right now." She paused, as if considering her words. "Would you... explain to us what you have come here to consult me about?"

"First, I thank you that we can have this conversation. I've come here because there is something you should know about, something that had happened in Kinkan. I do think you are aware of these... rumors, describing a raven girl?"

Rue nodded seriously. "Our friends told us the gist of the rumors, as it had been causing a lot of distress among the townsfolk. Fortunately that seems to be subsiding now, but the origins of them remain, along with any concerns connected with them," she said, eyeing Lucy, but almost avoiding looking at Odin. "From what I understand of the things they told me... you must be that raven girl who stopped the assailants from attacking this boy, is that right?"

"Indeed, and while I see it as good to have protected him -- after all, this child was hunted by people merely believing in a rumor they could not prove -- the reason I did so remains unknown. You see, when the boy called for help, it somehow... twisted my emotions. I had a great desire to help him, despite not knowing him. This was the first time I had become the raven girl, Lilith. And from there on, it was just out of my control. I attacked them, caused harm to all of them. And I am not really proud of that."

Rue and Mytho looked at each other for a moment, their brows furrowed, before Rue looked back at Lucy. "So, then, your main concern now is how you might be able to control this transformation, so that you won't do something outside of your own will," Rue said. "And that is why you've come: to ask me -- or perhaps, both of us... how you might do that." At that last sentence, Mytho folded his hands together, but showed no other outward reaction.

Lucy simply nodded. "A friend of ours -- and somebody you may be familiar with by now, Dr. Crou -- suggested that I should ask you, for you had a similar situation in the past. And especially after... what had happened recently, I have to find a way to control it."

"Yes, I understand," Rue said, looking pensive. "It's true that before, when I first became Princess Kraehe, it came unbidden. But, for a time, I believed that to be who I really was -- that Rue was the lie, and Kraehe the truth. You, on the other hand, have no such burden to get past." She looked at Lucy. "What you must do instead to conquer this curse is what I only discovered more recently: you must face the essence of your curse, the emotions at its core that to control you, and master them."

"I'm... not quite sure what you mean. What exactly is it that I need to do, Miss Rue?"

Rue closed her eyes. "Whenever I was Kraehe, I was overcome with resentment and jealousy, that I was alone in the world except for the few people my fath -- the Raven said loved me. When I felt thus, the Raven's blood held sway over me, and the power was not my own to wield. I was controlled by it.

"What you need to do then, is to know what part of yourself drives that transformation -- the emotions that control you -- and counter it with the truth that frees you from it. For me, it was realizing that others loved me as well, not just the prince and my father as he said. That I was not alone, and that I was worthy of love the way I was. For you, it may be something different. But that realization is the key to being able to make that power that controls you as instead your own to wield."

That made Lucy think. She remembered feeling anger while being Lilith, when Odin was attacked. She felt merciless when she tried to take the heart from the boy. And she was vengeful whenever she was Lilith. That was probably what Rue meant.

If she could manage to be accepting, to show mercy and forgiveness, both as Lilith and Lucy, she may learn to control it. It would be difficult, she was sure of it -- but it was the only way. "I understand...to control myself, I will have to find what lies beyond the things I believe as Lilith," Lucy said.

"Then, if there is nothing else Rue has to add?" Mytho asked, looking at Rue.

Rue shook her head. "I believe she gets the idea now." She turned to Lucy. "That part isn't something I can help you with, as I don't really know you personally. But if you keep in mind what I said, then I believe you'll be able to overcome your curse like I have."

The royal couple nodded at each other, and stood from their seats. "Please feel free to make yourself comfortable, and head back home at your leisure," Mytho said with a courteous smile. "Komaro will have the carriage ready whenever you're ready to leave."

Lucy nodded. She was still quiet, but definitely was now a bit more determined than before. "Thank you for your help, Miss Rue," she said, with a small smile.

The royal couple headed toward the room's exit, with Mytho holding open the door for Lucy.

Lucy then left the room. She now felt more sure about all this, and even if it might be difficult, she would try hard to find a way to accept and work with these emotions.


	96. In Which Rue and Mytho Talk with Odin

Behind Lucy, Odin silently got up to leave the room as well, but before he could head out the door, Rue stopped him.

"Wait..." Rue said, uncertain but insistent. "I... don't think we've gotten to talk much as of yet. Might you stay for a bit longer?"

Upon her saying this, Mytho paused at the door, looking behind him at Rue.

Odin blinked up at Rue with hesitant puzzlement. "Umm... I guess," he said, his eyes almost going up to meet hers, then changing his mind at the last second and looking off to the side. "If that's what you want, Princess Rue."

Rue was not expecting his reticence considering his earlier candor, so she was somewhat taken aback. "If you'd rather not, I won't keep you," she said quickly.

Odin shook his head. "No, I mean it."

He turned around and sat himself back down at his chair, folding his hands in an uncharacteristically quiet gesture, as he implicitly waited for the royal pair to join him.

Mytho gently touched Rue on the shoulder. "Should I stay here with you?"

"You don't have to if you'd rather not," Rue replied. "I can handle myself, so don't worry for my safety or anything," she added, sounding casual enough that it was almost like she was joking.

Mytho glanced pensively at the boy sitting in the room. "I... would like to be present, if you don't mind it. Not to protect you, just... I feel I want to talk with him, too," he said somewhat reticently.

Rue simply nodded in assent, and they left the doorway and sat back down at their seats from before.

As Odin sat there, he seemed calm and collected, but his eyes did not look up to meet either of theirs. "So, what were you thinking of talking about? Sounded like you had something in mind."

Rue paused, unsure of how to broach the subject. "I... are you aware of how you are in your world's future in this world, and what became of you in this future?"

"Yeah, I am," Odin said plainly, though his expression revealed the gravity with which he stated this. He still didn't meet their eyes.

Mytho and Rue's eyes widened, and they glanced at each other for a moment. "So you do know--then..." Mytho said, hesitant. "That, in this future, I fought... the Raven in a long, arduous battle--"

"You don't have to dance around the issue-- yes, we were archenemies in this future," Odin said bluntly, glancing up to meet their eyes for a mere instant, before he faltered and his gaze fell again. "And I know what happened in the other world your friends came from, and how you," he turned his position toward Rue, "are related to... the Raven," he said, hesitating at the last words.

Mytho and Rue were taken even more aback at this frank statement. Rue clenched her hands together anxiously, her expression troubled. "Then..."

"Yet I'm sitting here chatting with you like it's nothing," Odin said, the sardonic turn of his voice belied the stifled distress beneath it. "It's ironic, right? Yeah, I know." He sighed. "But we're not fighting right now, and there's no reason for either of us to start, so... no problems there..."

"I have no more reason to fight you than I would to fight any other of my beloved subjects," Mytho said, his voice becoming firm with conviction. "You have done no wrong -- not in this world, and I don't believe in your own either. I've... already made the mistake of believing the future to be inevitable, and I shan't make that mistake again."

"'Beloved'?" Odin asked, confused at the phrasing. "Would you really say that about your archenemy?"

" _You_ didn't do any of those things," Rue said frankly. Odin's eyes shot to her at this. "You're merely a raven child who came here from the past to accompany this girl on her travels. And..." Rue paused pensively. "...your conversation right now alone is something I could never have imagined from anyone resembling the Raven."

Odin blinked, not having an immediate response to this statement.

Mytho nodded. "Rue's right. One does not punish anyone for a crime they _might_ commit. Furthermore, I would never harm an innocent child -- be they human, raven, or any other creature on this earth."

"Yeah, I get it, we're not enemies," Odin said quickly, unintentionally impatient-sounding. "That's fine; it's all good. We can go our separate ways in peace, and all that."

While one might have misinterpreted this response as dismissive, Odin's subtle cringe, fallen gaze, and grasping of his fingers gave away his apprehension. There was something he wanted to say to the pair... but, he could barely put the words together in his head, and they wouldn't reach his lips.

As Rue watched him with concern, she had a flash of recognition. Not of his appearance -- his mood was one that she knew, one she saw in the mirror once. It was that of yearning -- a longing for someone to reach out to, to lean on... to be loved by. It was something her father had withheld from her all her life, and her desperate need for it drove her to do things she dearly regretted even now.

Even Mytho, who had difficulty reading others' emotions as clearly as others could, noticed Odin's anguish and in genuine worry, he opened his mouth and starting raising his arm to comfort the boy, when Rue instead pointedly grabbed his hand and stood up.

"Well, that's enough of that," Rue said without reserve, almost casually. "There's still some time left for us to idle about. Why don't we go about the castle together, young Odin? There's a number of curious things about it you might find amusing that I can tell you of."

At this, Odin looked back up at Rue, astonished. Looking at her expression, he saw that she had a small, relaxed smile on her face, and she looked upon him with the affection she'd have for any other child she might meet. Odin perked up, seeming to regain his previous vigor as he stood up vivaciously. "Really? That's something I'd love to hear about! Where do we start?"

Mytho blinked, not expecting this change in atmosphere quite so quickly. He stood up with Rue, and as they headed toward the door, he glanced at her with an odd mixture of puzzlement and relief.

Rue merely glanced at him with a playfully mysterious smile on her face, and opened the door once again to let the other two out with her.

Wasting no time, they set off down the castle hallway, where Rue and Mytho began giving Odin a special friends-only tour of the castle's hidden little secrets. The smile on Odin's face couldn't be wider.


	97. In Which Lucy Confides in Selene

It had not been a week since Lucy had returned from the storybook world after having a conversation with the former raven princess, now swan princess Rue. It was said that she would need to understand her emotions, to control herself -- which was easier said than done, but there was no other option. She had also now found out that it was not only depending on the situation -- she could possibly become Lilith at will. That she wanted to avoid. For now...

At that moment, she sat at the table, looking outside the window, thinking of what her next step could possibly be.

That was when Selene entered the café and walked toward her. "Hey, Lucy!"

"Oh -- hey, Selene."

She sat down in the opposite direction of Lucy. "And, anything new?"

"Not much...just, I was out of the town for a bit recently."

"Out of the town? Why? Where did you go?"

"Uh, just had some things to do outside of town, that's all."

"Well, that's new. But if there's nothing else..."

Lucy nodded. "What about you?"

"Not much, either. But there was one thing I still question myself about. You see, my brother recently came home really exhausted and also way later than usual. I asked him how his day had been and he told me something...very interesting.

"Apparently, he had woken up in a building, from one moment to another, which sounds of course very unrealistic, but then the rather interesting thing happened. He told me that he was approached by Odin, of all people. He told me that he asked strange questions to him...and most importantly, he asked why Lilith would have wanted to take his heart.

"But please, keep this to yourself. I don't want to spread the next big wave of rumors here."

"Understandable," Lucy said.

"Now, the question is, if so, why...? I still don't really believe that the raven girl may be someone we all should fear, but...this is very odd."

"It could be very well that she did not plan to... and that something else would have driven her to try..." Lucy trailed off.

"You think so? I mean, it would at least make some sense." Selene sighed. "I still want to know who the raven girl is and what her motives are."

"...I know I can trust you very well, so I am sure it is safe with you," Lucy finally said. "There is something I need to tell you."

"Of course, what is it?"

Lucy quietly explained the whole situation to Selene, without stating the fact outright.

"Wha... so that means, you're--" Selene looked at Lucy in shock. "I...do not know what to say."

"Listen. I can understand if you hate me now, but it was important for you to know..." Lucy said as a slight pang of sadness came over her.

"Hey... I don't hate you for this," Selene replied. "I...may be a bit mad, because why didn't you tell me earlier? It would have been easier this way..."

"Because I was afraid of how you would react..."

"We've been friends for a long time now. We've helped each other, trusted each other all along. I won't let a simple corruption ruin that."

Lucy looked at Selene with shock. "After all I've done... you..."

Lucy silently stood up and hugged Selene. She couldn't hold back her tears either. "Thank you..."

"Hey, no problem. We can find a way together..." Selene said, smiling.

Lucy wiped away her tears and nodded. After some time, she sat down back to her seat.

Selene smiled. "Now, for something more positive..."

After all this, they had a conversation about rather positive things happening around. Lucy, on the other hand, was happy and relieved. It was not the reaction she had expected, but it did not matter anymore for her. This gave her even more determination, and now, she was more sure than before that she would eventually reach her goal.


	98. In Which Odin and Frigg Gaze at the Stars

"If you get bored, I'm not making you stay," Odin said as he and Frigg sat under the apple tree at dusk, waiting for the sun to set.

"For the last time, Odin, I'm staying with you," Frigg said, crossing her arms. "If it's interesting enough for you, it's interesting enough for me." She pouted a bit. "It almost sounds like you don't _want_ me around."

"You know that's not true," Odin said, rolling his eyes. "I'm just aware that waiting for the stars to come out at night isn't every raven's idea of entertainment."

Frigg closed her eyes proudly. "Well, we know you're not just _any_ raven, after all," she said. "You're the one who said you were going to snatch them out of the sky one day, right? When all the other 'simpletons' merely laughed at the very notion?"

"Of course I remember," Odin sighed. "I've never forgotten that day..."

Frigg looked at him curiously. "Though, I've wondered... what about it is so important to you? If it were simply to do something seemingly impossible, there'd be a number of other things you'd be wanting to do that are just as unthinkable."

Odin stared out at the sky above them, the first few stars beginning to twinkle into view. "I told you that those are the same stars that rule our fates, right? That the future written in them is as immovable as the stars themselves," he said. "Well, if those stars are stolen away, they're not so immovable anymore, are they?"

"Yes, I remember," Frigg said with a smiling nod. "But, this time you seem intent on _this_ world's stars in particular. Do you think your future is written in these stars as well as the one back home?"

"They might be, but..." Odin squinted at the sky with curiosity. "Something seems... different about the stars here. As if they're so much farther away, and yet they shine bright enough for us to see them. If they're as far away as I think they are, how great would those celestial objects be to do that?"

Frigg tilted her head. "So the stars here are... different? Are the constellations different?"

"I don't think they are, no," Odin said pensively. "There's still Orion, and Cassiopeia, and all the others of the Zodiac. But... the stars themselves seem to be something different. As if... they're not even the same thing at all."

Frigg's eyes widened. "So then, this world might work completely differently than it does back home? Even though it doesn't look that different?"

"For all I know about this world...?" Odin trailed off, holding his hands in the air for a moment. "Our world is a 'story' to this world's point of view. How that makes it different -- that I'm still finding out."

Frigg placed her hands on her lap, looking at him. "Well, I'm curious now -- what _is_ different? I mean, it has trees, and human dwellings, and the grass is green and the sky is blue in the day, just as ours does...."

Odin lay back on the grassy ground, putting his hands under his head. "So far, it's kinda been more about what this place _doesn't_ have, rather than what it does. The biggest thing is just how much less magic there is here. Even when it's there, it sticks out like a sore thumb."

Frigg blinked. "Has that ever made things difficult?"

"No, and that's the thing," he said, looking at her. "Things seem to work just fine here without magic. Like there's something else that keeps it all going." He looked up at the sky, where more stars were appearing as the sky darkened. "I wanna know what that is."

Frigg lay down right next to Odin and turned toward him. "Then I want you to tell me everything you find out about this world from now on," she said, smiling.

Odin grinned at her in return. "Yeah, I definitely will, Frigg."


	99. In Which Leo and His Family Have a House Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Calliopea (created by Square-chan)  
> note: Calliopea only appears for a few scenes afterward

Leo was waiting at the town's gate for the others to arrive. Lytha ran up to Leo with Marilee behind her.

"Hey Lytha, Marilee," Leo said.

"Heyyyy, sorry about being late, I was waiting for Mari," Lytha said.

"Hi, I was finishing up a greeting present," Marilee explained, a present wrapped up in nice wrapping paper in her hands.

"You didn't need to get a gift, but I'm sure my parents will love it," Leo said, glancing at the gift. He looked around. "Where are the others?"

"Evanee is taking care of Noah, so I don't think they can make it. As for Natasha and Dr. Crou, I'm not sure," Lytha replied. "I hope natasha and Crou will arrive soon."

Little Marilee nods in agreement as she fidgeted in place.

"You look very cute today, Mari," Lytha smiled at Marilee.

An unfamiliar young woman walked towards the gate, spotting Leo and two others. She approached them slowly, feeling nervous.

Lytha noticed a girl walking up to them. "Hm? Mari, did you invite a friend?"

Marilee blinked twice and shook her head no.

"H-Hello," the newcomer said shyly. "I'm Calliopea. Are you a friend of Leo's?"

"Hi, I'm Lytha, and this is Marilee."

"It's been a while, Calliopea," Leo said.

Calliopea nodded with a small smile. "Yes, it has. How are you?"

"I'm fine," Leo replied. "Did my parents invite you?"

"Yes, they did. But, uhm..." she fidgeted with her hands nervously, "...how many people will be here?"

A large crow swooped overhead and landed near Leo. It quickly changed into a crow-headed man with a package in his hand.

"Hi, Dr. Crou," Leo greeted him.

"Hey," Lytha added.

"Hello, Leo. I hope you are doing well."

Calliopea watched the crow fly towards her friend, then stepped back, startled at the sudden transformation. She stared with wide eyes. "Who is that?"

"Calliopea, this is Dr. Crou -- Crou, this is Calliopea," Leo introduced them.

She hesitated before holding her hand out in greeting. "H-Hello.."

"Ah, sorry Miss Calliopea. I didn't mean to startle you," the doctor replied. "Here, I shall be polite and change into my human form."

Then with a snap of the bracelet and a flash of light, a regular guy stood in front of her. "I hope that is better," he said to the girl. He then turned his attention to Leo. "I believe it is better if I appear in front of your parents like this, too."

"That would be for the best," Leo said.

Calliopea took back her outstretched and quickly held it behind her back, embarrassed of her reaction. "S-Sorry!"

"Hey, Dr. Crou, have you seen Natasha?" Lytha asked.

"Ah yes, I did. I saw her heading this way just back there, so she should arriving soon..."

From the distance, a pink-haired girl was running towards the group in front of the gate.

"Oh, I see her now, hey!" Lytha waved at Natasha.

She waved back at Lytha, and after a few long moments, Natasha finally reached the gate. "Oh, (huff) gosh (wheeze), if I had known (gasp) how far it was, I would have caught a ride with you or Dr. Crou," she says to Lytha.

Natasha suddenly notices an new, but perhaps familiar, man in the group. "Huh? Leo, is that your uncle?"

"Huh? This is Dr. Crou," Leo said.

Dr. Crou stifled a chuckle. "This is my human form, Miss Natasha."

"Wait, what? Dr. Crou?!" Natasha exclaimed in shock. She sizes him up and down. "Well, you should use that form more often. What kind of friend am I that I couldn't recognize you?"

"Duly noted."

Lytha giggled.

Natasha brought out a gift bag and handed it to Leo. "Here's a gift for the dinner party, Leo. I hope your parents like some champagne."

"I'm sure they will love it. Thanks, Natasha."

She noticed the gifts and paled. "Oh, was I...supposed to bring something? I'm sorry, I don’t usually go to things like this..."

"It's okay, Calliopea; now, is that everyone?" Leo asked.

"Noah had caught a cold and there was some complications with his magic, so he is resting right now," Dr. Crou said. "This gift is from him by the way." The doctor handed Leo the present. "Evanee is watching over him right now, so there's no need to worry."

"Well then, shall we go?" Leo cast a spell and a portal opened up. "This is the quickest way to my parents' home. Come on."

Natasha gapes as she sees Leo pulls out a portal right in front of them. "Whoa--! I didn't know you were such an advanced magic user, Leo. Makes me wonder how powerful your parents are."

"Oh, you will see," Leo went through the portal and everyone else followed behind.

Everyone exited the portal to see a huge castle.

"Wow," Lytha said.

Natasha looks in awe at the tall white-washed walls and pretty towers. "Oh wow! Nice place, Leo!"

It was the doctor's first time seeing an authentic medieval castle so he could only marvel at the sight before him.

Calliopea takes in the familiar sight of the castle. “How is your brother, Leo?”

"He is doing fine, last I heard."

"Oh, you have a brother?" Natasha asked.

"Yep," Leo said.

A lady walked up to them, hugging Leo. "Oh, pumpkin, welcome home."

"Mom... what did I say about calling me 'pumpkin'..." Leo's cheeks were slightly pink.

Lytha giggled.

"Calliopea, it's been a while. How've you been?" Leo's mother went to hug Calliopea.

She returned the hug with a small smile. "I've been alright, been focusing on practicing on my magic. How about you? And Luke?"

"Yes, he is well." Leo's mother notice the group. "Oh, are you people Leo's friends?"

Lytha nodded.

"Where are my manners? I am Melody Knightwalker, Leo's mother. Please do come in. You don't know how happy I am to finally meet my son's friends," Melody said as she walked down the hallway with everyone else following behind her.

Melody brought the group to the dining room. "Please take a seat, everyone."

"This is a huge dining room" Lytha remarked.

"It is, indeed. Do you expect many guests, Mrs. Knightwalker?" Dr. Crou asked.

"Yes; most times it's for a birthday party." Melody noticed the gifts. "My, I see you brought gifts."

Calliopea shifted in her seat, letting out a nervous chuckle. "I'm terribly sorry, I don't usually go to these kind of things and didn't know I was supposed to bring one..."

"Oh, Calliopea, that's all right, you are always babysitting my little son, Luke."

A man burst into the room. "Leo! My boy!"

"Oh god," Leo facepalmed.

"Leo's dad is very hyper...." Lytha whispered to Marilee.

Marilee nearly let out a caw from the sudden dad appearance. She needed a few minutes for her heart to restart.

Calliopea giggled at the father's enthusiastic entrance. "Hello, Mr. Knightwalker!"

"Wow, Leo has quite an interesting family," Natasha noted to herself.

"Ah, Calliopea, it has been a while," he said, before turning to the rest. "Let me introduce myself. My name is David Knightwalker." David noticed Dr. Crou. "You there, you have a good body. Would you like to spar?"

"Hm? I'm sorry? A sparring match you say?" Dr. Crou asked.

"That's right."

"Dr. Crou, please forgive my father; he is too active for his age. It's okay to turn it down," Leo apologized.

"Hm, I do not mind a little fun. I have been pretty rusty lately, so some sparring is a nice change of pace," the doctor smiled at the idea.

"Excellent!" David said, pleased.

"You sure about this, Dr. Crou?" Lytha asked.

"It's fine. I will make sure he won't get hurt."

"You read my mind. Well, have fun," Lytha said.

"Come, my friend, pick a weapon" David showed him a range of weapons.

Dr. Crou scans the various collection of strange-looking blades and blunt objects. "Hm, I didn't expect this. I'm not used to using such equipment."

"You can use any weapon or magic."

"This is actually a human disguise to be polite to Leo's house. I would like to use my normal crow form to spar along with my magic."

"Interesting; please go ahead."

Melody cleared her throat. "Dear, remember any sparring is outside."

"Oh, of course, please follow me to the sparring room."

"Why, of course." Dr. Crou followed Mr. Knightwalker to the sparring room while the others settled in the Knightwalkers' living room.

~~~~~~~~~

After the sparring match was done, they all reconvened in the dining hall. Marilee ended up needing to go home in the interim due to feeling unwell, so she was escorted back out through the portal before the rest sat down for dinner.

"I'm so grateful that everyone could come," Melody said.

"That's right," David added.

"Please enjoy the food our kitchen made" Melody clapped her hands and maids came out with food, placing it on their plates. "So you are Natasha, Lytha, and Marilee, right?"

The three nodded.

"What is your job, Natasha?"

"Well, currently I'm a merchant of sorts. But I have been going around to various magical professions who haven't gotten a chance to network outside of their own towns."

"My, what an interesting job," Melody commented. "You must be having fun."

"Yes! I love traveling and meeting new people and learning everyone's different crafts! It is a lot of work to manage and keep in contact with them, but I love it just the same."

Melody giggled. "Travelling is fun. If possible, I'd like to purchase from you as well. What do you sell?"

"Currently, things from my hometown of Ipswich, like handmade witches candles, various powders for changing or detection, various magical materials from magical creatures in the Storybook forest such as horns, feathers, scales, and the like. I also have a few things from my journey such as books and potions." Natasha conjured up a bag and laid out a few of the items she listed. "Oh! and here's something I got from a fellow traveler. Some folded paper creatures made from 'yume no takeh' paper." Natasha pulled out some colorful folded pieces of paper, one of a phoenix, another a dragon, and a few cats and flowers. They all started to move on the table but not straying too far from Natasha.

Calliopea perked up at this slew of information. "Um...what kind of books? Do you have, I mean?" She smiled at the display of dancing paper figures. "Those are really cute -- I think kids would love those!"

"Oh my...that is so cute; I'm sure my Luke would love to have them, Natasha. Can I buy them and some storybooks?"

"Okay, so the folded paper creatures. Aaand for storybooks we have the classic 'The Prince and the Raven' picture book, 'The Tale of the Changeling's Daughter', 'Mr. Goose and the Golden Pot', 'The Three Candles', 'The White Duck', 'Mister Sun and Missus Moon', and 'The Seven Ravens'. I also have this book list from the book shop I got these from if you are interested in other stories."

"Do you also have any spellbooks?" Melody asked.

"Ah, not really. I have a few that are my own personal collection but more of a material reference guide." Natasha shuffled through her satchel and pulled out a notebook. "Hmm, I do have a few books. One is 'Home Gardening for the Young Witch' written by my mother." Natasha says as she flips through her notebook. "And 'A Guide to Home Remedies' was also written by my mother."

Calliopea gasped in delight. "Wow! I'd love to buy those from you! How much are they?"

"We can discuss costs a bit later after dinner. But it shouldn't be too much."

"Hey Natasha, can I pay for them?" Lytha asked.

"Oh, for you, Lytha, that will be a 300% markup," she playfully remarked.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Lytha pouted.

"That means I know you are loaded, sweetheart." Natasha mischievously grins as she raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, take all my money while at it," Lytha joked.

"I'm kidding, of course. But I can ask Mr. Barnes for any spell books you might want from this catalogue. He usually collects them from various local writers."

"I will pay for the folded paper creatures and the storybooks," Melody said. "I mean, after dinner."

"That will not be a problem. You can also let me know if you ever wish to get more folded paper creatures."

"And I will pay for the spell books for Calliopea," Lytha said.

Calliopea's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, you don’t have to do that for me! I think I have just enough to buy the books, it's fine!"

"Please, take it as a token of us being friends," Lytha smiled at Calliopea.

"O-Oh, alright then! Thank you very much, I deeply appreciate it." She gave Lytha a slightly nervous but cheerful smile.

David nudged Leo. "So, my son, which one of this girls is your future wife?"

Lytha and Leo both choked on their drinks. A light 'eeep!' escaped from Calliopea.

 _"Wife?!"_ Lytha exclaimed.

Natasha hummed to herself in amusement as she watched this play out.

"Dad, not now, please," Leo groaned.

"What?! You told us in the letter you would introduce us to your girlfriend."

"You shouldn't keep him waiting. A father would feel distraught you kept it quiet for so long," Dr. Crou said. He had been sitting and talking with the father for most of the dinner.

Leo sighed and walked over to Lytha. "This is my girlfriend, Lytha."

"Oh my goodness! My baby boy is finally grown up," Melody crooned.

"My boy is finally a man," David declared proudly.

"Did he tell you how they first met?" Natasha asked.

"Na...Natasha!..." Lytha said, flustered.

"Oh, he should tell that story. It was quite interesting," Dr. Crou said.

"I'm afraid I know nothing of this myself, so please tell us the story, Leo?"

"You too, Calliopea...?"

"Oh, please do tell," Melody said.

"You might as well start when you came to Goldcrowne and looked for Drosselmeyer, of all people," Dr. Crou said.

"Ummm, well..." Leo said.

"Wait, before anything..." Melody clapped her hands and maids suddenly appear behind Lytha. "I'm dressing her up. Be right back."

"...I feel stupid," Lytha came out of the dressing room in a black princess gown and had her hair up.

"Oh, she looks wonderful, you got such a pretty girl, my boy" David smacked Leo's back.

"I have to agree," Melody agreed.

Natasha clasped her hands together as Lytha walked to her seat with embarassment. "You look like a princess, Lytha~!"

"So, Leo, how did you two get together?" Melody asked her son.

"Well, when I arrived at Kinkan, I met Lytha when she was sick; I helped her get better. Taught her magic and we got closer. I think it was after Lytha met Natasha that we got together," Leo replied.

David asked, "How many times have you two kissed?"

Lytha choked on her drink again.

Calliopea giggled. "Mr. Knightwalker, if you keep this up, you’ll end up having them choke to death before their wedding..."

"I'm afraid I will need to leave early for tonight. I am glad to have been invited to the party," Dr. Crou said.

"Oh, so soon?" Melody asked.

"Yes, I'm getting worried about my patient and his caretaker. I don't want them to stay up too late waiting for me."

"I understand; here, let me get the portal for you and thank you for coming to the dinner. I hope you liked the food," Melody waved her hand and the portal appeared.

"Yes, it was a very delicious meal. I do hope to come again soon." And the doctor waved the others good bye, and went through the portal back to Goldcrowne.

"You are very good with magic, Mrs. Knightwalker," Lytha said.

"With practice and some time, you can get as good as me." Then Melody glanced back. "Oh, I just realized I never closed the portal," she said after a head popped through it.

"Hi!!" Evanee's head exclaimed.

Lytha stood up and ran to hug Evanee after she stepped out of the portal. "Evanee!"

"Oh my god, they are beautiful hoomans," Evanee said.

"What?" Lytha giggled.

"Aaaand we are back," Dr. Crou said as he stepped out of the portal, looking exasperated as Noah stepped out alongside him.

"Ah, welcome back Dr. Crou -- and I see you have brought friends," Melody said.

"I want to see the castle," Noah said. Dr. Crou sighed.

"Hello, Ms. Knightwalker, I'm Evanee. My friend here is Noah, and I'm a friend of the gorgeous creature who most certainly came out of your womb."

Noah was silent. "..."

"Evanee! Noah! Great to see you~!" Natasha wavesdat them enthusiastically. "Are you feeling better?"

"Natasha!! Hi!" Evanee said.

"Yes, thank you very much. I'll be ready to move back into the pond house soon," Noah said.

"That's good, but I'd rather like to renovate that old dump before you move in," Natasha replied.

"Oh, Leo, this friend of yours is very pretty too," Melody said.

"I happen to love that old dump... and thank you very much, Mrs. Knightwalker," Evanee said.

"Please take a seat, you three," Melody said.

"I thank you for allowing us to join you at such a late time. Some people have less cordial manners," Noah looked over at Evanee.

"Please, it's alright -- if anything, my husband is worse."

"I feel insulted," David said.

"That's because you have been, dear."

Calliopea let out a laugh at their antics.

"Well, you both have excellent qualities," Noah said.

"I'm Leo's mother, Melody Knightwalker, and this is my husband David Knightwalker."

"Nice to meet you two," David said.

"Oh? I don’t believe we’ve met. Are you Leo's sister?" Evanee asked, approaching the stranger in the room.

"Um...no, I just...watch his younger brother sometimes." She gave a shy smile. "My name is Calliopea Astor; it's nice to meet you."

"Speaking of, where is Luke?" Melody asked.

Luke appear behind Calliopea. "I'm here..."

Calliopea yelped in surprise. "Luke! You startled me!" She sighed and patted his head. "It's been a while, huh?"

Luke nodded his head shyly.

"Leo, why don't you show Noah around the castle?" Melody said.

"Yes, Mother," Leo stood up. "Come on, Noah, let me show you around."

"Sounds like a plan."

Both of them left.

"Dr. Crou, I thought you said Noah was still recovering?" Lytha asked.

"... I didn't drag him into anything..." Evanee trailed off.

"Anyways, I'm glad you could come Evanee," Lytha smiled at Evanee.

"I am, too." She gave Lytha a small hug.

"Hmmm, wait a moment." Melody snapped her fingers, and Evanee and Calliopea's clothes changed into dresses with their hair done up.

Evanee gasped and spun herself around. "Oh! It's absolutely wonderful!"

Calliopea blushes. "This is...different...but nice. Thank you."

"You three look gorgerous," Melody said. "How about you, Natasha? I can give you a dress, too."

"Oh my! I would love to!" Natasha said with sparkles in her eyes.

Melody snapped her fingers and Natasha's clothes changed into a dress with a new hairdo.

Natasha spins around in her new lavender and magenta gown. "Wow! I feel like a princess," she giggled.

Leo walked back in. "Hey mom, we are back."

"Oh hey, Leo, Noah. How was the tour?" Lytha asked.

"It was okay," Leo said.

Calliopea gave an experimental spin in her emerald-colored dress. "Mrs. Knightwalker, do you make these dresses yourself or do you buy them?"

"All these are handmade, my dear."

"Wow! And it's the perfect fit, too! You must have the best tailors in town to create these!" Natasha said.

"It's a little hobby of mine while we wait to see which kingdom would hire us," Melody said.

Evanee giggled, she very much enjoyed Melody.

"The last kingdom we served was the worst," Melody frowned. "Especially that prince, Alex."

"Seems like everyone has a bone to pick with that kingdom, huh?" Natasha asked.

Melody sighed. "Yes."

"You're JOKING!" Evanee exclaimed.

"No, we are not," David replied.

"Prince 'Im better than everyone and will force someone to marry me' Alex?!" Evanee gaped. "Prince 'if someone disagrees with me, ill have my guards throw them in the dirt and break their knees' Alex?"

"Yep, that sounds like him... Do you guys know him?" Melody asked.

"I don't -- I don't even know what you guys are talking about," Calliopea said.

"Oh boy... do we KNOW him," Evanee cracked her knuckles. "To quote my dear friend Marilee: 'motherCAWing piece of CAW full of CAW. Top Tier CAW."

"Umm Evanee, calm down," Lytha sweatdropped.

"My bad."

Dr. Crou silently thought, _W_ _here did she learn that kind of language_?

"Did he do something?" Melody asked.

"Oh ho ho. Tried to enslave your future daughter-in-law," Evanee replied.

Calliopea gasped. "How?"

"Sent men and assassins to find her," Dr. Crou answered.

"Tortured her friends and family," Evanee added.

"Oh my," Melody remarked.

"I will get my sword," David said, standing up.

"It's fine, now," Lytha frantically waved her hands.

"Your son assisted me in the medical procedure when she was attacked. Very resourceful and dependable," Dr. Crou said.

"That's good to hear," Melody said. "Oh, that's right we have desserts, let me have the maids serve us."

Calliopea smiled brightly at the mention of dessert. "Wonderful! What will it be tonight?"

"We have an array of desserts so help yourselves." Melody clapped her hands and maids came out with different desserts, from ice cream to cake to pudding.

"Wow, that's a lot of desserts," Lytha said.

Calliopea practically quivered in her excitement. "They all look so delicious!"

"Hehe, please girls, help yourselves, and boys as well," Melody said.

Evanee giggled and popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth.

"Hmm, I will pass," Lytha said.

Calliopea took some of the ice cream along with a slice of cake. She took a bite of both and smiled, utterly delighted.

"I see you like desserts a lot, Calliopea," Lytha giggled.

"A sweet tooth for a sweet person," Noah commented.

"Oh boy, here we go..." Evanee groaned.

Calliopea blushed. "Y-Yeah. Ice cream is my favorite, always has been."

"Evanee, how are the desserts?" Lytha asked.

"The chocolate is really--" Evanee grabbed a small cake. "--good."

Leo stood beside Lytha with a plate of different desserts and started slowly eating them.

Noah smiled. "I quite enjoy ice cream as well; do you have a favorite flavor?"

Calliopea scratched the back of her head, giggling nervously. "I don’t have a single favorite, I could never decide! I really enjoy vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and raspberry!" She added, "Oh! And mint chocolate chip!"

Noah laughed with her. "Mint is most certainly a favorite of mine."

Natasha grabbed some small slices of various cakes and confectioneries to sample them all. "Oh! Mint chip is my favorite flavor too!" Natasha exclaimed.

"Good to know you all have something in common," Evanee said.

"Jealous?" Lytha whispered to Evanee.

"Do you have to ask that every time Noah talks to someone. I'm not interested in him?" Evanee gave her best friend a perplexed look.

"Alright, alright, I will stop," Lytha said raising her hand in defeat.

Calliopea looked to Natasha. "What else do you like?"

"Well, I like to try new things, as you can see here." Natasha pointed her hand to her plate. "But my mom would make us some fresh ice cream during the summer. I should ask her to write a recipe book on that. She would always make big batches for us using the stuff from our garden. "

Calliopea was intrigued by Natasha's story on home-made ice cream. "That sounds delightful."

"Haha! We aren't called 'Gardener' for no reason. We actually have a decent acre of land that has belonged to us for many generations," Natasha puffed up with pride. "Most of the family and extended family lives on it, though naturally others found places elsewhere."

Evanee giggles at Natasha's enthusiasm. "Oh Nat, you're so fun when you are passionate."

Noah extended his hand to Calliopea. "I'm Noah, by the way, not sure if I've said that already."

Calliopea blushed, taking his offered hand. "I'm Calliopea Astor, it's a pleasure to meet you." She gave him a genuine smile, eyes glowing slightly in her happiness.

Noah slowly took his hand away. "Your eyes... I haven't seen emotions expressed so intently in someone's eyes before."

Calliopea squeaked, covering her face. "S-Sorry! They do that sometimes, though not often. If I feel really happy, sad, or angry, they do that. Also, if I use magic. I guess I feel comfortable, so I'm happy."

"I don't know why you are apologizing; it's a lovely thing," he gave her a bright smile and picked up a hazelnut chocolate.

"Okay, Noah, stop pestering Calliopea, you'll scare her away," Evanee said.

Noah turned and rolled his eyes at Evanee. Natasha giggled slightly at Evanee and Noah's antics.

"I want some desserts, but the corset is so tight, I'm scared to eat," Lytha said.

Noah gave a quick look at Lytha, offering to loosen her corset.

"It's alright, Noah, I'm fine."

Leo popped a chocolate into Lytha's mouth.

"Leo... you idiot," Lytha said as she chewed on the chocolate.

Evanee gave a small squeal at Leo's action. "So cute~"

"Here, let me help you loosen the corset; Mom can go overboard with this," Leo said to Lytha.

"Thanks, Leo," Lytha said.

"Where did Luke run off to again?" Calliopea glanced around, not spotting him. "He was here earlier..."

"Hmm?" Noah pondered. "Would you need help finding him?"

Luke appeared behind Lytha's skirt. "I'm here..."

"Oh, hi Luke, were you hiding behind me this whole time?" Lytha said, patting Luke's head.

Calliopea chuckled. "No help needed, it seems."

Luke nodded and asked Leo to carry him, and Leo picked him up and brought him across the room.

Meanwhile, Dr. Crou was quietly eating his desserts, mostly fruits and a slice of cake. He sipped his tea as he was enjoying everyone's conversation.

"Oh my, you three look like a family," Melody clapped her hands in glee.

"Andddd here comes a blush," Evanee said.

Natasha counted down. "Three, two, one--"

"Mrs. Knightwalker!" Lytha blushed bright red.

"Oh yes, mine is a little tight too," Evanee looked down at her waist. "How about you, Natasha?"

"Hmm, mine is slightly tighter than I’m comfortable with, as well. Also, when would you like these dresses back, Mrs. Knightwalker?"

"If she says keep them I'll cry--" Evanee said.

"Oh, you girls can keep the dresses," Melody said.

Suddenly, Noah said, "Caw."

Evanee looked at him with bewilderment. "Noah, what?"

"What??" Natasha exclaimed.

"You okay, Noah?" Lytha asked.

"Hmm? Sorry, I was thinking about Odin, and that kinda came out."

Calliopea blinked. "Um...what?"

"Okay??" Lytha said.

"Did Odin teach you that?" Dr. Crou asked him.

"..." Noah paused. "I do wish Odin could have made it, though..."

"Ah, girls, I have more dresses that I have made and I would like to give them to you," Melody said.

"Since when did Odin and you get so--" Evanee gasped. "MORE dresses?!"

"Evanee, calm down there, girl," Lytha giggled.

"Oh my..." Calliopea said.

"Yes, Evanee, you are getting a little too excited," Noah said.

"Hey! Shush it, you," she prodded a finger at Noah. "I make dresses, I'm simply admiring the wonderful work. Shooo!"

"Oi! That hurt!"

Melody just giggled and snapped her fingers, different dresses appeared floating in the air. "Go ahead, girls, take your pick."

"Oh wow..." Calliopea admired the dresses, though did not feel confident enough to wear them. "I think I'm alright; thank you, though."

"Aww Calliopea, what about this one?" Evanee motioned to a deep blue one. "I think it would look lovely on you."

She blushed, eyeing the deep blue dress. "M-Maybe I can take that one, then. Thank you, Evanee." She gave the girl a smile.

"Oh wow! Thank you, Mrs. Knightwalker. Is it alright if I take some of these dresses for my sisters?" Natasha asked.

"Of course, go ahead."

"Mind you, I have six other sisters. So I can have these dresses as payment for the books and folded papers," Natasha replied.

"Oh, are you sure? I feel like it would be too little," Melody said.

"Oh, that's right, the books! Lytha, you really don't have to buy them for me, it's quite alright." Calliopea said.

"I'm still buying the books and nothing can change my mind," Lytha smiled at Calliopea.

"Alright, if you insist." She gave her a shy smile.

"Calliopea?" Noah asked.

At the sound of her name, she turned to Noah. "Yes?"

"Have you been to other worlds before?"

Natasha stared at Noah quizzically when he asked Calliopea that question.

"I... have not..." Calliopea thought over the question. "Why?"

"Would you ever want to?"

"Huh, funny that you would say that, Noah..." Natasha said.

Calliopea pondered over the thought. "I think so. It sounds very interesting, and like a great learning experience!"

"Before I continue, why do you find that interesting, Natasha?" Noah asked.

Natasha contemplated the notion before answering. "Well, actually my sister knows someone who had been looking for a way to travel to different worlds. None of the witches have that capability, so that person had been searching for a powerful enough being to do so. Would you mind taking another person with you, Noah?"

"Oh, why yes, of course! I'd love to help with that, but I was actually going to ask Calliopea if she wanted to uh, visit Kinkan... I know it's not my place to do so, since it isn't my home, but she gets along with the gang real nicely, so I thought..."

"Oh yeah, you should totally go visit Kinkan, Calliopea," Lytha said.

Natasha blinked. "Wait, Kinkan is still part of this world."

"Yeah, wait a minute, Mister 'From a Different World' -- shouldn't you be the one to know these things?” Evanee remarked.

Noah sat there in silent embarrassment, because he felt like quite the idiot. Leo just patted Noah's back.

"I've always loved traveling, so I don't see why not! And it feels nice, fitting in with the gang here...I don't have many friends, so it's nice to have some for a change.” She smiled at everyone in the room, eyes dimly glowing in her happiness.

Natasha laughed. "Well, if anything, we can visit my place if we really wanted to go to a different world. It's the Storybook Forest, same place where Prince Siegfried is from," Natasha said. "Though, I thought I might have a lead on helping Cassidy..."

"And I'd certainly love to help your sister out. Traveling between worlds is something I can do, just ask the good Dr. Crou," Noah said.

"But I'd have to bring Theo with me!" Calliopea said.

"Oh, who's Theo?" Evanee asked.

"Theo? Who is that?" Lytha asked.

"Theo is my pet, though he's almost more of a familiar, given our deep understanding of each other. He's a red panda."

"You have a pet! Ohhh, can I see him?" Lytha's eyes sparkled.

Evanee gasped. "That’s adorable! And here I was thinking that was your significant other."

"Sure! Just let me, uh," she snapped her fingers and suddenly on her shoulders was Theo, chittering at the sudden change of his surroundings.

"Kyaaaaaa, so cute!" Lytha squealed.

"Why do I feel like she likes the panda more than me?" Leo said.

"I was about to say the same thing," Noah said as he watched the three girls take turns booping Theo's nose.

"Oh hush, Leo, let her fawn over him. You get her to yourself all the time, don’t you?" Calliopea said.

"But the difference, dear Noah, is that we actually DO like the panda better than you," Evanee said.

"Ooooh, burn, Noah, want some ice to cool that burn?" Lytha said jokingly.

Noah was silent. "..."

"Just kidding, just kidding. Sorry about that, Noah," Lytha said, apologizing.

"Prince Siegfried......dear, didn't we get a letter from him?" Melody asked David. "Oh, that's right; Leo, dear, we might be working for Prince Siegfried."

"...Who?" Leo asked.

Natasha was about to go see the red panda until she heard Mrs. Knightwalker mentioning working for Prince Siegfried. "You are??"

"We might be," David replied, before heading out of the room seemingly to check on something.

"Who is Prince Siegfried?" Leo asked.

Calliopea scratched Theo behind his ears, who in turn rubbed against her neck in affection. Then he disappeared, popping back up right on Lytha’s head, sniffing and pawing at her hair.

"Hehe," Lytha giggled.

Leo stared at the girls. "...Now I know how Noah feels."

"Welcome to the club," Noah said. "We meet on Tuesday's; you can be the Vice President."

"Sure."

"Dorks," Evanee remarked.

"Oh, do you want to play with Theo next?" Lytha said as she was playing with the panda.

"Nope. I enjoy watching Leo squirm," Evanee said.

Lytha looked at her with confusion.

"Your beau is getting jealous, dear," Evanee said.

"Calliopea....can you get Theo away from my girlfriend now?" Leo asked.

"Oh, don't be a sore loser, Leo," Evanee teased.

"I'm... not, it's just that she is playing with Theo too much," Leo said. "Besides... I never feel jealous."

Calliopea shrugged. "Theo does what he wants. He's still a pet, you know."

Suddenly, he disappeared once more, appearing on Leo's shoulders, sniffing him.

"....." Leo patted Theo.

"Awwww, I wanted to play with him more," Lytha said.

"Aww, so cute," Natasha giggles.

David burst through the doors. "My son!"

Natasha went over to Dr. Crou to ask about Noah's credibility until Mr. Knightwalker burst through the door. Theo jumped in surprise at David's sudden entrance, disappearing and popping into existence again on Evanee's head.

"Kyaaaaaa," Lytha squealed again. "Soooo cute, Evanee, you look so cute with Theo on your head."

"Dad....you scared everyone," Leo said.

"It has been confirmed; starting tomorrow, our family will be working for Prince Siegfried and Princess Rue," David said.

"Wow! Congratulations!" Natasha said.

"I'm sorry, I seem to be a little lost...?" Calliopea said.

"Same...." Leo said.

Evanee gave a little pat to the panda.

Then Theo, who seemed intent on investigating everyone in the room, next appeared on the shoulders of Noah. He sniffed the side of his face, and pawed his claws through his hair. Noah blinked.

"Pfft, hahahahahahha!" Lytha laughed.

"Theo seems to like you, Noah," Leo said.

Noah gave a small blush. "At least someone does."

Natasha looked longingly at the red panda, really wanting to pet it.

The doctor chuckled. "To answer your question, Natasha, yes, Noah can travel to different worlds. You are free to pet the panda now," he says calmly with a sip of his tea.

Theo poked his nose into Noah's cheek, then disappeared, emerging on the shoulders of Natasha. He buried his face in her hair, sniffing around. Natasha had a big smile on her face when the panda landed on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, but who is this Prince Siegfried and Princess Rue?" Calliopea asked.

"I'd like to ask the same question," Leo said.

"What?! You don't know the Prince and Princess of the Swan Kingdom who vanquished the Evil Raven with Princess Tutu??" Natasha exclaimed.

"Even I know it," Noah said.

"I think everyone except Leo and Calliopea has met them," Lytha said.

"There's a published book and everything?" Natasha said.

"Nope, sorry," Leo took a seat next to Dr. Crou.

"The ones who took care of Prince Alex's mess?" Natasha persisted.

"Still doesn't ring a bell," Leo said.

Calliopea flushed in embarrassment, feeling extremely self-conscious of herself now. "S-Sorry! I-I don't know about it! Sorry..."

Theo noticed his distressed owner and appeared on her shoulders, providing comfort for her. She gave him little scritches behind the ears, her anxiety slowly ebbing away.

Melody took out her pocketwatch and noticed the time. "Oh my, would you look at how late it is; it's time I sent you all back."

Natasha pouted a bit from the others' ignorance of the royal family, but to be fair, she was actually from the Storybook World, and that was common knowledge for them. So she admitted to herself that she was a bit biased.

Noah stretched. "Yep, I am pretty tired."

Calliopea nodded, still a bit anxious. "Y-Yes, it is quite late."

"I hope you all enjoyed the dinner," Melody snapped her fingers and the portal back to Kinkan opened.

"I'm going back ahead of you, Lytha. See you tomorrow," Leo kissed Lytha on the cheek and entered the portal.

"Night, Leo," Lytha waved at Leo.

"Calliopea, you coming? You could crash at my place; it's a little full, but it'll do until you're settled," Evanee said.

"Or you could both crash at mine? My home is bigger," Lytha said.

"Y-Yeah, that sounds great, actually. Thank you very much."

"It's settled, you are staying at my house; how about you, Evanee?" Lytha said.

"Booo, I wanted to sleep in my own bed," Evanee moaned.

"Ah, it seems I'm actually staying with Lytha tonight. Sorry, Evanee. At least I won't be taking up much space though," Calliopea said.

Theo reappeared on Lytha's head again, sniffing her hair once more.

"Goodnight everyone," Calliopea waved to her new friends.

"Night you guys, Evanee, Mrs. and Mr. Knightwalker," Lytha said.

"Please dear, call us Mom and Dad," Melody said.

Lytha blushed slightly. "Night Mom, Dad." She grabbed Calliopea. "Come on let's go, Calliopea."

She stumbled along behind Lytha. "O-Okay!"

"Noah, are you coming back to Evanee's place? I can book a night at the hotel considering I'm making some plans for some out-of-town visits," Natasha said.

"I am, but we haven't had a chance to talk. What do you think about late-night hot cocoa? I can make some for Evanee too," Noah said.

"I will be heading home, Noah. I guess I can leave you three by yourselves?" Dr. Crou said.

"Thanks for coming, Dr. Crou. Have a nice night," Melody said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Knightwalker. And a good night to you, too." Then the doctor went through the portal back to Kinkan.


	100. In Which Lytha and Noah Take Calliopea Shopping

Lytha woke up early the next day and went into the kitchen to make breakfast. When she was just about done preparing the meals, she called out, "Rise and shine, everyone!"

"Breakfast!!" The twins ran downstairs and sat at the table.

"Morning you two -- now eat breakfast and go brush your teeth afterwards. Don't forget you guys still have school," Lytha said.

The twins nodded their heads.

Calliopea slowly entered the room, nervous. "G-Good morning, everyone."

"Morning!" The twins smiled at Calliopea.

"Morning, Calliopea; sleep well?" Lytha asked.

"Yes, actually." Theo appeared suddenly between the twins, sniffing at them. "And so did Theo, it seems!"

_The twins giggled at Theo and start patting him_

"That's good, take a seat -- I'm making pancakes right now. Oh, that's Lisa and Liam; they're twins and my siblings."

"Thank you for making breakfast, I'm sure it will be delicious." She turned to the twins, smiling. "Hello, it's very nice to meet you. It seems Theo likes you guys!" Theo had taken to running around their feet, sniffing at them occasionally.

Lytha placed a plate with pancakes in front of Calliopea. "Go ahead, dig in."

"Nice to meet you, pretty lady," Liam said with a smile.

Calliopea blushed at the compliment, but smiled warmly, eyes glowing ever so lightly. She took a bite of the pancakes and swallowed. "Wow, this is amazing, Lytha!" She turned to the twins. "Does your sister make food this great all the time?"

"Sissy does everything," Lisa said.

"Yeah, Sissy is amazing," Liam said.

"Okay, you two, go brush your teeth and go to school; you both are going to be late."

"Okay!" The twins prepared to leave for school.

Calliopea took another bite of her food, watching them leave. "So it's just you and the twins? For how long?"

Theo appeared on Lytha's shoulders, curling around them to relax.

"Oh, that's right, you never met my dad; it's been the four of us since I was six," Lytha said as she petted Theo. She took a seat with a plate. "I do everything from breakfast to chores and to doing orders for customers."

Calliopea nodded. "It must be tiring. But I bet you're proud, too. Your siblings definitely are proud of you, for sure. Where is your dad in the mornings?"

"He should be coming down now."

Jake walked into the kitchen with crutches. "Good morning, you two."

"Dad! You shouldnt be walking alone; what if you fall?" Lytha said.

"I'm fine, sweetheart; I may be old but I'm still active." Jake turned to Calliopea. "Good morning, Miss Calliopea. I hope the room was okay for you."

"Oh yes, it was! Thank you very much for letting me stay here, I deeply appreciate it."

"That's good." Jake took a seat

"Oh, alright," Lytha put a plate of pancakes in front of her dad and a cup of coffee. "Just don't push yourself, okay Dad?"

"Alright," Jake said. "Why don't you both go out and have fun for today; I will take care of the orders."

"That's okay, you don't have to! If anything, I could even help you guys with that, or watch and learn and do it as I go, perhaps? What do you think we should do, Lytha?"

"Please, I insist, go have fun," Jake replied.

Lytha sighed. "Well, you heard my dad. Why don't we have fun today?" Lytha winked at Calliopea.

Calliopea blinked. "Well, I don't see why not, I suppose. Um, I haven't gone out with a friend before, really, so what do you do to have fun?"

"Shop, eat, and more shopping. Oh, that's right, here," Lytha handed Calliopea a shoebox.

Calliope took the box, opened it, and gasped. "Wow, these look amazing! Did you make these? Or your dad?"

"My daughter spent the night making it for you," Jake replied.

"Dad... you promised you wouldn't tell," Lytha blushed.

Jake laughed and drank his coffee.

"Wow, Lytha, you didn’t have to do this for me!" She gave Lytha a hug. "Thank you very much, they're beautiful. I can wear them when we go out!"

"You are welcome," Lytha smiled at Calliopea.

Calliopea took them out of the box and placed them onto the ground, slipping her feet into them. They felt very comfortable, and fit perfectly, too. "These are amazing, Lytha! So, where should we go first to have fun?"

"Hmm, first let's go buy some clothes, you need new ones."

Calliopea blushed in embarrassment. "I suppose I do, I don't go clothing shopping much."

Lytha grabbed Calliopea and brought her out of the house, heading into a nearby clothing store. "Here we are!"

"Wow, these clothes are all so wonderful!" A dark green blouse caught her eye. "That’s a beautiful shirt!" She then saw a blue strapless sundress, right across the aisle. "I've forgotten what it's like to shop for clothes, it seems," she said with a giggle.

Lytha giggled. "Go ahead, pick out what you like."

Calliopea went around and grabbed a few pieces of clothing, including the blouse and sundress she'd noticed when they'd entered the store. She took them into the dressing room, coming out with a deep purple spaghetti-strap dress. "I don't remember the last time I wore something so pretty, except at Leo's dinner party."

"So pretty!" Lytha said. "You should get that."

"I'd like to... I'm just not sure when I'd wear it, it's so nice!" She thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, I need some more casual clothes, too! I tend to accidentally burn the clothes I practice my magic in." She giggled at the memory from the last time that happened.

"Hehe," Lytha said, and then noticed a mermaid wedding dress.

"I see you eyeing that dress, Lytha -- are you planning your wedding before you've even gotten engaged?" Calliopea gave her one of her rare sly grins, coming out of the dressing room with the clothes she was buying.

Lytha blushed bright red. "Calliopea! It's nothing like that!"

Calliopea shrugged her shoulders. "You say that a lot." She stood beside her, admiring the dress. "Clearly you love him. There's nothing wrong with wanting a future with him. I'm pretty sure he thinks of it, too, you know."

"Hey, do you like Leo?" Lytha asked.

"Hm? What do you mean? Do I love him like you do?"

"Yeah..." Lytha said. "Sometimes I feel like Leo shouldn't be with me."

"No, I don't like him like that. I may have known his family for a while, and watched his brother, but I'm not very close to him. I'm not close to anyone, really; haven't been for a long time. As for your feelings towards Leo being with you... what makes you feel that way?"

"I mean, he comes from an awesome family while I come from a shoemaking family. I mean, those two don't really match."

"Love transcends all boundaries, Lytha. In the face of love, your social status or background doesn’t matter. If he loves a shoemaker, he doesn't care much for money or status. He cares for _you_."

"Thanks Calliopea," Lytha smiled at Calliopea.

"Anytime." She went and paid for her clothes, then came back to stand beside Lytha. "So, what do we do now?"

"Hmm, it's still early, so let's go look at jewelry," Lytha said. "Hey look, there is a wedding shop. Must be new."

Noah approached the two. "Oh, hello!"

"Noah! Hi," Lytha said.

Calliopea raised a brow towards her. "You sure it's not like that with you and--oh, hi there!"

"What are you doing here?" Lytha asked.

"Just browsing. I haven't been able to walk around much."

"How's the wound?" Lytha asked.

"Much better, thank you. Calliopea, how are you doing? Settling well?"

"I am, thank you for asking. I'm doing quite well. I...I haven't ever really gone out to have fun with a friend before, so this is like a learning experience for me." She smiled at him.

"Yep, Calliopea is having fun," Lytha said. "We were just about to go over to the jewelry shop when we saw this wedding store."

"What brought you here today, Noah?" Calliopea asked him.

He shrugged.

"Where's Evanee?" Lytha asked.

"Work, I assume."

"Ah, I see," Lytha said.

Calliopea fidgeted in place, feeling awkward. "Erm...where are you going, then?"

"Probably to go see Evanee," Lytha said.

He shook his head. "I actually came here to intercept you two."

"Huh? What for?" Lytha asked. "Well, if Calliopea is okay with it, you can join us in this bonding time."

"I'd enjoy that, if she's okay with it," Noah said.

"Yes, it's no problem at all if he joins. It'll be fun!" Calliopea said.

"To the jewelry store!"

Noah smiled, holding the door open for them.

"Thanks, Noah," Lytha entered the shop.

Calliopea smiled at Noah and thanked him, walking in behind Lytha.

"I haven't seen this much jewelry since the party," Lytha remarked.

“Me neither,” Calliopea said, admiring a beautiful golden diadem with emerald gems. "They're all very beautiful."

"Well, time to shop!" Lytha noticed a full set of diamond jewelry with a pink diamond in the middle of the necklace. "...Wow..."

Noah picked up a tiger-eye ring.

"Hehe, it suits you, Noah," Lytha said.

He put it on his finger. "What do you think, Calliopea?"

"I think it suits you as well," she commented, then began walking down by a set of rings. He held onto it, twirling it in his fingers.

Lytha noticed a necklace. "Hey, I think Evanee would look great in this. I want the diamond set, but it's too expensive even for me," Lytha went to look at the ring section and picked out a weird looking ring and put it on. "Hey guys, look at this... haha."

"Pfft," Noah chuckled.

Calliopea giggled. "That looks silly."

"Welp, it looks like I'm not buying anything," Lytha placed the weird ring back.

"You sure? What about the necklace you were looking at?" Noah asked.

"That necklace would look better on Evanee."

"Ah, I see. Anything else that has caught your eye?"

"Ummm welll...." Lytha glanced sidelong at the pink diamond jewelry set. "Nope, nothing."

"I don't think jewelry really looks all that good on me... if it did, I still wouldn't know what to choose." She chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. "I'm not buying anything either."

Noah nodded, opening the door back open for them. "I'll get the ring another time." He smiled at the shopkeeper.

Lytha walked out the door. "Well, where to next? We could go eat or look at more shops."

"I vote for more shops," Noah said.

"Hey, you three!"

A shopkeeper called out to them from the wedding shop, and Lytha looked at the shopkeeper quizzically.

"Oh, hello?" Noah asked.

"Please you have got to help me, I need someone to model the dresses."

Noah said, "(Step aside ladies, I got this.)"

"Deja vu," Lytha rolled her eyes. "We are kinda busy..."

"Yes, I fear we don't have much time," Noah said.

"Y-Yes, please excuse us, we are very sorry..."

"Please just for a while, one of the customers has a similar figure to yours," she pointed to Lytha.

"...Wait! ME?!" Lytha exclaimed. "Nononono!"

"I will even pay you, please just for an hour."

"Ugghhhhh, fine..."

She dragged Lytha into the wedding store and push her into the dressing room. "Here wear this. You two can sit here," The shopkeeper pointed to the cushion seats.

Lytha sighed. "...I'm stupid."

After changing into what the shopkeeper had given her, Lytha walked out in a transformer dress. "Who wears this for a wedding?"

"Come on, Calliopea, I'll show you the cafe in the meantime," Noah said. "We will be back soon..." Seeing Lytha, he trailed off. "--Oh god."

"Hm? Something wrong, Noah?" Lytha asked. "Do I look weird?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure anyone wears that for a wedding..." Calliopea remarked.

"Oh wait, wrong one," The shopkeeper pushed Lytha into the dresser again.

Lytha came out in a mermaid dress. The dress fit Lytha like a glove. "Oh wow..."

"If you can't tell,” Noah said, leaning towards Calliopea. "This happens to Lytha a lot."

"Hmm, that's rather unfortunate," she replied.

"Haha, very funny, I heard that, Noah," Lytha remarked.

"Oh yes, you look beautiful, now stay still; this will only take a sec..."

While Lytha got measured by the shopkeeper, Noah and Calliopea decided to head for the cafe to pick up some coffee while they were waiting for Lytha to finally be done.

~~~~~~~~~

Evanee gathered the leftover plates and tossed them into the sink... well, not tossed, but gently placed.

Upon reaching the cafe, Noah opened the door, offering Calliopea to enter. "This is it -- the cafe we all love to hang out at."

Calliopea thanked him and walked in, looking around. "It seems very comfortable here," she said. A few people glanced over at their entrance, and she felt nervous. "I'm not used to eating out."

Noah smiled. "Nah, you'll be fine. If you feel uncomfortable, just let me know and we will get out of here," he said, leading her to a booth near the back that allowed for limited visibility from other patrons.

"I think I'll be alright, but thank you." She sat when they reached the booth, feeling much more at ease now that she couldn't really see anyone else in the cafe. "How often do you all come here?"

"Pretty often, it's kind of where you go to meet anyone and everyone. Evanee and Crou work here, and it's where I first met them when I came into town."

Evanee skipped up to the table. "Good afternoon, Noah--oh, hello Calliopea!"

Calliopea looked up at the new arrival. "Oh, hi Evanee, how are you?"

With a jingle of the doorbell, Sagi came walking into the cafe, wondering who she might see there that day. Looking around and seeing no one familiar, she decided that a quiet afternoon was fine too, and she took a seat near the back that was out of the thick of other patrons, coincidentally near the quiet booths in the back. She picked up a menu and perused it absentmindedly, wondering if she should have her usual or go for something new.

Evanee turned around at the sound of a new customer and saw Sagi sit down at a nearby table. "Oh, hi Sagi."

Sagi glanced up at her name. "Oh, Evanee -- hello. I haven't seen you in a while. Are you... doing better?"

She nodded. "Things are back to normal for me, it seems."

Sagi nodded. "I'm glad to hear that. Things have been a bit tense at times, so it's nice to have some calm after the chaos." She paused. "Has the cafe been doing well? No further problems since that Prince Alex incident?"

Calliopea turned to Noah. "Who is that?" she asked, pointing to the girl speaking to Evanee.

"Ah, I believe that is Sagi, I've only met her once or twice, you might like her."

"Luckily, this place survived Alex's visit," Evanee remarked.

Just then, the door bell rang again -- a girl with short red hair entered the café.

"Who...Who is Alex?" Calliopea asked Noah next.

"Ah," Noah took a sip of water. "Shortly after I arrived, Lytha returned from a journey where she had left to find her mom. Turns out Prince Alex, some guy from a nearby kingdom, really wanted to marry her. He aggressively pursued her in Kinkan, and brought chaos with him."

Evanee zipped around again and gave Lucy a smile.

Lucy gave Evanee a slight smile back. "I could say the same."

"Oh, good afternoon, Lucy," Sagi said with a brief nod in her direction.

"Hello, all of you," Lucy replied.

"Oh my...well, what happened to her mom? Did she escape him?"

Noah shrugged. "I don't really remember, ask Evanee."

"Hmm? Oh, her mother had moved on and already had a new family. She was the one who told Alex that Lytha was in town. I really hated that guy." Evanee replied.

Seeing Calliopea's nonplussed face, Evanee went on, "Noah is bad at explaining things. Basically what happened was that Lytha wasn't allowed to leave Kinkan until recently, so she went to go find her mom. When she did find her, her mother had moved on. Lytha had grown up in that town, and apparently had been best friends with Prince Alex when they were younger. They promised to marry in the future... but the thing is, Lytha doesn't have her memories. So when Alex tried to marry her, she ran back to Kinkan, which brought him and a bunch of guards after her, and hse hid out at my place until we finally confronted Alex, stubborn and stupid, and shooed him away... questions?"

Calliopea shook her head. "No, I understand...now..." She was beginning to feel a little anxious at the number of people that kept coming. She waved nervously. "H-Hello."

"Huh, it's not every day that you see somebody new. As Sagi already said, my name's Lucy. And yes...the tyrant of a prince situation. He had nothing else in mind other than horrible, pathetic one-sided love. This love almost caused him worse troubles than he could have imagined..."

"Ah, I...I see." She bit her lip, not knowing what to say. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Lucy, I'm Calliopea."

"Nice to meet you as well, Calliopea," Lucy said, looking at Calliopea with her magenta eyes.

Noah looked at Calliopea. "You okay?"

"I-I'm fine. Just get nervous around groups of people, I'm not used to it, that's all." She smiled at him. "Thank you for asking, though."

"Ah, orders," Evanee clapped her hands together. "What can I get everyone?"

"Apple-infused water, please," Lucy said.

Calliopea looked up at Evanee to order. "Hmmm...what kind of desserts do you have?"

Evanee smiled. "Everything you can think of, we can get for ya. Ice cream? You mentioned it the other night."

Calliopea smiled brightly, eyes glowing. "Yes! I love ice cream! Oh, do you have milkshakes, too?!"

Sagi folded her hands. "I'll have a hot black tea -- with a bit of mint on the side, perhaps."

After Noah ordered a few coffees, Evanee went off to the back and brought out the orders.

Then Noah checked his pocketwatch. "Oh, she must be done by now. Sorry to cut this short, but we have to meet back up with Lytha. Nice to see you, everyone. Let's go, Calliopea."

"Ah yes that’s right!" Calliopea got up and sped out of the building behind Noah. "It was good to meet you all!" she called back as they hurried out the door.

"That was... oddly abrupt," Evanee said.

Sagi watched them leave. "It seems they had to meet someone," she noted.

Evanee sighed. "And they didn't pay..."

Sagi glanced at Evanee. "I suppose you could put it on Mr. Noah's tab -- he'll probably be back at some point in the near future. I'm assuming, anyway..."

"Most likely, even if it's just for visiting Evanee during work," Lucy said.

Evanee nodded, placing their items in front of them.

"Thank you, Evanee," Lucy said, with a small nod. "I haven't seen you in quite a while; how have you been?"

"So so, I'm dealing with some mistakes I've made in the past and trying to grow from them," she smiled, resting her hand on her hip.

"What kind of mistakes...? That is, if you are willing to talk about it," Lucy said.

"Oh... you know... It's my fault Odin was chased after by townspeople."

Sagi paused. "It's... not as if you told them to do what they did, right? You aren't to blame for reacting the way they did; they are."

"True, but I didn't think before I told anyone. I was inconsiderate, and it caused Odin to almost get hurt."

"...Well, while you may be partly at fault, it's not all because of you." Lucy sighed. "Almost is just almost, and their actions backfired in the end."

"Did anything in particular cause you to change your mind about Odin?" Sagi asked, looking at Evanee thoughtfully.

Evanee smiled. "A friend of mine, Natasha. She explained to me that just because my prophecies say something, doesn't mean they will become true. In fact, they aren't fixed, but malleable."

Sagi nodded pensively. "I was told the same thing by someone else who seemed to know about the future as well," she replied.

"Selene and I both knew it was a misunderstanding, even if it brought up matters which haven't yet been addressed. At least that rumor is out the window now."

Evanee looked at them. "How have you two been? We never talk much in general."

"Honestly, I've had better days. But I'm still doing somewhat well," Lucy said.

Evanee gave a small frown. "Is there something in particular bothering you?"

Lucy shook her head. "I've just been thinking too much about recent events, that's all."

"Ah, let me know if there is any way at all that I can help," Evanee said.

"I will, thank you. Say...have you been thinking about what happened after that attack? Of why it was stopped and why these townspeople haven't done anything further before the rumor was put out by the royals?"

Sagi was silent. It was up to Lucy to say something about Lilith, not her, so she waited to see what she would say.

Evanee shook her head. "I've barely even heard what happened. I know there was some raven girl there, but that's the extent of my knowledge."

"Indeed, the raven girl, Lilith. A red-haired girl dressed in raven feathers, as Odin described her to Lytha. She's been one big mystery, for anyone here. No one has ever seen her again after she attacked these townspeople intending to save Odin."

"So supposedly Kraehe 2.0, but probably nice considering she wished to protect Odin," Evanee pondered.

"That may be, if it weren't for that she literally did hurt these people. A storm of ravens, with one of these people leaving with heavy damage. I'd assume she was ready to end them, in the worst case." Lucy sighed, seeming to be thinking in a way, as if she is carefully choosing her words. "From what I heard, people are convinced they haven't seen the last of her. And...unfortunately, we definitely haven't."

Evanee started. "What? That's not good! How can you be certain we haven't seen the last of her? Oh, I'll have to look through my journals to see if there are any that make sense."

"I just have that awful feeling. These prophecies had predicted something which turned out wrong, so tread carefully. Yet, maybe it could help looking..."

Sagi glanced at Lucy for a moment, then said to Evanee, "Maybe one of your prophecies has, if not a forewarning, more information about her. Is there anything that sounds like it might be related?"

Lucy glanced at Evanee with her magenta eyes. "It's definitely worth looking."

Evanee nodded. "I'll be careful, and consult with a set group of people if I find something."

Sagi looked at Lucy again. "Was there... anything that prompted you to think about this now?"

Evanee looked over as well, it was a good point

"Sheer curiosity. I just wanted to know what Evanee thinks about it."

"Though, you did seem convinced that she would show up again..." Sagi said, trailing off. _Should I inquire more about this? I know she may not want to bring it up, but... I can't help but think she's asking for some reason._

"It happened before and the chances for it happening again are unlikely high. I can't put out this thought. I am sure she will show up again. I... just feel it."

"You...feel it? Have you witnessed the girl in action?" Evanee asked.

"I don't know... it is... all too confusing." The curse in her started to flare up, but she held it back.

"Lucy, are you okay? Do you feel sick or something?" Evanee looked at the paleness of her skin, the look in her eyes that seemed exhausted

"I'm doing...fine. Don't you worry, it is not some kind of sickness," Lucy replied, her eyes having a very dim red glow.

Evanee nodded. "Lemme know if you need some tea," she said, then turned to Sagi. "How have you been? I forgot to ask."

Sagi nodded at Evanee, before her eyes fell. "All right, I suppose.... just wishing I could do more to help the people around me."

"I understand how you feel, but you are always there in so many ways, so you're certainly doing something to help."

"....." Sagi paused, hesitating. "...When so many around you have abilities to do such incredible things, while you yourself have no real power to speak of... I fear in the future I may just get in the way, or hold others back..."

"But Sagi, you do have power. I know it's not tangible, but you have the power to support and love others. Every time you come in here you give me a smile, and each time you also sit quietly in the corner because you don't want to intervene, but sometimes life is better with you intervening. Through the crazy events of the past month, you've been a beacon of stability; you've shown us that we don’t need powers to help others or be brave." Evanee cleared her throat. "Wasn't expecting to go into motivational speech mode."

Sagi blinked, looking up at Evanee. "I.... I see. I'm glad you think that way of me," Sagi replied, a hint of a smile on her face. "Thank you for telling me that."

Evanee nodded. "I get the feeling that it's going to take you a long time to believe in yourself that way, but I believe it."

Lucy had nothing to add, just a nod as she agreed with Evanee.

~~~~~~~~~

The shopkeeper exhaled. "Okay, you can take it off now."

"Finally," Lytha changed and headed for the exit. "Alright, I need some coffee."

Noah and Calliopea walked back into the clothing shop. "Oh, Calliopea and I just got some for you."

"Waah, that's fast," Lytha said. "Please don't tell anyone you saw me in a wedding dress."

Noah nodded.

"Especally Leo," Lytha said. "Now then, time for lunch!"

Calliopea took a sip of her coffee. "Where will we eat?"

"Hmm no idea. Noah, any ideas?"

"I could cook for you all?"

"You can cook?" Lytha asked.

"That sounds quite nice, actually," Calliopea said. "Homemade food is always delicious."

"I agree! Okay, Noah is cooking for us!"

"Evanee’s place?" Noah asked.

"Race you guys there!" Lytha started sprinting.

"Um... I think I'll... walk..." Calliopea rubbed her arm anxiously, looking around her. "I'm not feeling up for running."

"I have a better idea."

Calliopea looked at Noah, curious. "What is it?"

"Well, two things. I could either carry you in my back while I run, or I can freeze time for you, and the next second, you'll be there.'

Calliopea stared at Noah in shock. "You have that much magic power? That’s amazing! I hope to become more powerful like that one day, I could help a lot more people."

Leo suddenly appeared behind them. "Hi, everyone."

"Ah! My guy, be careful, goodness," Noah said with a start.

Calliopea yelped, jumping at the sudden appearance of Leo. "My _goodness_ , Leo, you and Luke love giving me heart attacks."

"Hmm, was that too abrupt?" Leo said. "Maybe I should approach from in front of you instead. Anyways Calliopea, how are you finding the town?"

She sighed, hand over her rapidly beating heart. "Umm, the town is quite wonderful, more lively than the one I live right now. I might move here instead."

"That's good to hear," Leo said. " So where is Lytha and where are you guys going?"

"Oh, we're heading over to Evanee’s house, and Noah is going to cook us lunch. Would you like to come along? Lytha is with us too, but she ran ahead."

"If you guys don't mind," Leo said.

"I don’t think it'd be a problem. Can Leo come as well?" Calliopea asked, turning to Noah.

He nodded, and they began to head towards Evanee’s home for Noah to serve a meal.


	101. In Which Chiyo Arrives and Defaces the Cafe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Chiyo (created by Squiddles)

_A short time afterward..._

Chiyo slipped easily from the gates surrounding her family's home, not sparing a glance back towards the house. She quickly tucked the stark white cat ears into the hood of her black hoodie, peered around to make sure no one had seen her. She walked quickly to the bush where she kept her stash of spray paint and looked around the small German town. This had been the first time she was out in broad daylight, and she wasn't sure where to start with her teenage mischief.

Rounding a few corners, she came upon a building that appeared to be a mix of a pizzeria, cafe, and bookstore. The streets weren't busy, so she dropped her bag down and got to work spraypainting a lovely mural with no fewer than 3 swear words on the side of the otherwise cheery-looking building.

Apollo Bare, meanwhile, was in the cafe manning the reception area, when he heard someone arrive outside. As he stood up, though, he heard... the sound of spraying? Confused, he opened the front door of the cafe and went outside to see what was going on.

Chiyo was smirking to herself as she continued spraying her crude art onto the building, her ears twitching at the sound of the door opening. She paid it no mind, though.

What Apollo Bare witnessed made his jaws drop open in shock. At the cafe's front outside wall, plain in sight for everyone to see, was a girl shamelessly spraying rude phrases in garish colors.

"Hey! Young lady, what do you think you're doing?!" he barked, storming over to her and put his paws on his hips, standing in the direct path of any potential escape routes. While by a human it would have been a standard pose of irritation, by a polar bear several feet tall standing it was pretty intimidating.

Chiyo froze, a chill of fear running down her spine. Still, ever the cocky teenager, she smirked and she crossed her arms as she turned around. Her smirk dropped, however, upon witnessing just what was standing behind her. Her eyes traveled all the way up to those of the bear, and she just barely managed to keep her voice steady as she bit out a snarky response. "What's it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're demanding to be caught red-handed defacing my cafe!" Mr. Bare exclaimed. He grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her into the cafe. "You're in big trouble, young lady, and your parents are going to hear about this soon, make no mistake!" While he was careful not to let his claws out, his soft paws held onto her arm firmly without give. It was highly unlikely she could simply muscle her way out of his grip.

Chiyo attempted to tug her arm free from the bear's grasp, but knew instantly it was futile. Though she also didn't make it much easier on him, and she basically made him drag her in, as she refused to move her feet. Her ears pinned themselves to her head in irritation. "What if I don't have parents? Ya ever think of that, jerk?" she asked, more in a sarcastic way, rather than raising a real question.

"Rich, calling the owner of the property _you_ vandalized a jerk," Apollo Bare chided back as he opened the front door and yanked her in.

Once inside, he pulled her over to an area outside of the cafe's office, which was closer to the other patrons than he would have liked, and glanced at one of the other waiters manning the floor. "Watch this girl, and don't let her out of your sight," he told a fairly muscular waiter who looked like he could have been a bouncer. "I'm going to find out who's responsible for this girl and let them know what she's done."

With that he went into the back office to begin making calls, telling Evanee the situation and having her go with him to assist in finding her parents. The muscular waiter stood watch over the girl silently with his arms crossed, staring her down. She wouldn't be going anywhere without him catching her.

The young girl's ears twitched in irritation as she stuck her tongue out at the receding back of her captor. Looking up at the scary bouncer, Chiyo decided that now was not the time to attempt any kind of escape, and instead immaturely crossed her arms to mimic the stance of the buff waiter, even adopting the same scowl that he wore.

Having allowed Calliopea to rest at Evanee's after Noah's meal, Lytha had headed for the cafe, and was outside the building when she noticed the graffiti on the wall. She decided to enter the cafe. "Hello?"

Apollo Bare was notably absent from the front door, and so another waitress hastily welcomed Lytha in. As it was in view from Lytha's seat, Lytha noticed the large waiter standing guard outside of the cafe's back office, with Chiyo standing grumpily next to him.

Chiyo watched the other girl come in, and dropped her mimicry of the guard to wave at her with a small smirk. "Hello," she started, greeting her. "What brings you to my humble abode?" All of this was said very casually, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Lytha smiled back. "Oh, last I remember, this little cafe belonged to Apollo Bare and not a little girl. I take it the graffiti was your doing."

Chiyo chuckled. "Ah yes, my masterpieces. Untimely were they ripped from my hands before completion!" Her voice boasted an air of sarcastic drama, as if she were reciting Shakespeare. "Did ya like them?"

"Hmmm, not really."

Sagi and Lucy had been still talking with Evanee when the commotion occurred. Having seen Evanee called away suddenly with this new commotion, Sagi covered her mouth with surprise. She glanced in the direction of the girl being stood watch over, and saw her talking with Lytha.

She turned to Lucy. "Umm... did that girl... just do graffiti on the wall outside? I didn't quite hear all of it just now, but it looks like it's her doing..."

Lytha turned to Sagi. "Oh, Sagi, hi! And yes, this girl is responsible for the graffiti on the wall outside the cafe."

Chiyo bowed, still smirking. "I thought I did quite well, but it seems everyone's a critic. Tragic, really," she said with a shrug, walking over to the girls. "Is this some hotshot cafe or something? Seems more popular than I had expected."

"Looks like it..." Lucy said. "This café opened sometime earlier and since then, we repeatedly visit this place."

Lytha nodded her head in agreement and sipped on her coffee.

"Interesting! I hadn't heard of it before," She pulled out a chair and sat down with them, turning her gaze towards the buff waiter that was keeping an eye on her, but had not yet told her not to do something. "I'm rather parched, waiter sir. Could ya spare a cup of coffee?"

The waiter continued staring down at her without saying a word. He clearly wasn't about to budge, nor take his eyes off her.

"Hmmm," Lytha went to the counter and ordered a hot chocolate for the girl instead and brought it back to the table. "Coffee your age is too young, little girl."

Chiyo pouted at being called 'little girl', but accepted the hot chocolate nonetheless. "Thank you, _old lady,_ " she said in reply, a devious smile creeping up on her lips before she took a sip.

"My, what a rude one. But I'm not much older then you, so you should be calling me big sister, girl," Lytha smiled at the girl.

"Nah, you seem too old to be my sister," Chiyo said, squinting at Lytha's features. "What's your name, anyway? I figure that bear is gonna end up locking me up in the basement or something, so I might as well get acquainted with the regulars."

"Call me Lytha, and you? What's your name?"

"I'm Chiyo Ka..." She paused, not sure if she should reveal her relations just yet. "Uh, just Chiyo. I take it you go to that fancy-pants Kinkan school?"

"Yes, I'm in the advanced ballet class and the head singer in music class."

"That's pretty neat. I take it you don't skip class much, huh?"

"Nope."

"Where do you go to school, Miss Chiyo?" Sagi asked. "You seem the age to be attending classes of some sort."

"I..." Chiyo dragged out the sound of the 'i' as she searched for an answer. "I'm homeschooled. I don't take any academic classes, but I'm _totally_ ready to get _married._ " She said this in a sarcastic voice, rolling her eyes. "Embroidery, playing piano, arranging flowers, all of that nonsense."

"Uggh, the word 'marry' just reminds me of Mr. Cat," Lytha groaned.

Chiyo let out a bitter-sounding laugh. "Yeah, tell me about it," she mumbled to herself. "Is he a teacher or something?" she asked a little louder.

"He was a teacher, but he briefly retired after he got married. He's back to teaching again now, though."

Sagi looked at Chiyo curiously. "Do you... know Mr. Cat, then?"

"You know, she kinda reminds me of Mr. Cat, like physically," Lytha remarked. Lucy kept quiet for now.

Chiyo answered quickly, "Never met the guy. Would never want to. Nope, never in my life." She pinched a strand of her deep plum-colored hair, inspecting for any split ends and mostly giving herself a place to look that was not the faces of the group she was conversing with.

"Uh-huh," Lytha said, not convinced.

Sagi furrowed a brow. _She's not a very good liar..._ she thought. But then she remembered what she had said about being homeschooled, yet 'ready for marriage'. And the way she had said that... "Are your parents making you get married to someone?" she asked.

Chiyo shrugged, as if she couldn't care less. "Eventually, when I get older. Or so they think. Who knows, I could probably run away before that happened," she said, with a small chuckle.

"Now, that reminds me of somebody," Lucy said, glancing at Lytha.

"Hey, I had a reason," Lytha said to her.

"I know you had."

Leo walked into the cafe and noticed Lytha, Sagi, and Lucy talking to a girl he did not recognize. "Hi guys, mind telling me why there is graffiti outside the cafe?"

"Oh, hi Leo, and this is Chiyo, the person responsible for the graffiti outside the cafe," Lytha said as she pointed at Chiyo.

Chiyo looks up at the new person, blushing and quickly fixing her hair. "It's really becoming a crowd in here. Way more popular than I thought it'd be."

Leo looked at the girl. "Is she the one who graffiti'ed the cafe?"

"Guilty as charged," Chiyo replied to the man, "though I would not say that in front of a judge."

Sagi was silent for a moment. Though Sagi herself hadn't exactly "run away" from home, she had certainly left on her own terms, without asking approval from her family. Even then, however, that didn't make Sagi herself act out or misbehave. So why, then? Was she angry at the world, or simply a mean-spirited person?

"Why exactly did you do that, Miss Chiyo?" Sagi asked her. "I don't see what good it would have done you."

Chiyo turned to Sagi. "I have my reasons, I could go on a rant but that'd be boring~!" She paused, looking around. "Does this place serve sweets? I'd kill for something with whipped cream on it."

"She is a child," Lytha sighed.

"You sound very sheltered, to be honest," Sagi said. "You don't seem to be aware of the consequences of your actions, and assume others will clean up after you."

Chiyo chuckled. "C'mon, give me a little credit. I've lived seventeen years on this tiny planet and I'm still alive. I think I know what I'm doing by now."

"Why are you laughing?" Sagi asked with oddly calm curiosity. "What about it is funny to you?"

Lytha casually sipped her coffee. "Leo, sweetie, mind getting me a cheesecake and a strawberry shortcake?"

Leo nodded and went to purchase the cakes, placing the cheesecake in front of Lytha and the strawberry shortcake in front of Chiyo. Leo sat beside Lytha.

"Uh..." Chiyo's smile settled to a more neutral looking face. "I don't know. Everything you guys say is kind of funny. Is that not normal?" She paused to take a bite from the strawberry shortcake. "Anyway, I doubt after today that I'll be seeing any of you again. So, I like to have some fun."

Sagi frowned with confusion. "Do you think that you will never step foot out into this world again, one that you say is so small?"

"Doubt it," Chiyo said with a shrug and a grin, "I thought most teenagers stay inside for a majority of their lives?"

"Not for me," Lytha said.

Sagi blinked. "No, they certainly don't... most of them go to school, like me, Lytha, and Lucy here. We come out to places like this cafe, or shops, every so often. Do you mean to say, you've not done those things?"

Chiyo laughed awkwardly. "No, I've definitely done all of those things, just not around here y'know." She took a long drink from her hot chocolate, trying to think of a way out of the conversation. "I wonder where that damned bear went. Think he's arranging torturing devices for me for defacing his building?"

"He's more likely to find your parents and probably get the authorities to write you a citation," Sagi said. "Which would then be on your public record, I assume."

"Well, defacing a building is kinda rude," Leo said. "So, Chiyo, you decided to be rebellious?"

"I doubt the repercussions will be anything major, it's not like I killed anybody," Chiyo said, shrugging before turning to address Leo. "I don't believe it was a conscious decision, I just wanted to try out some new spray paint and decided that this lovely building was the perfect canvas for doing so."

"....." Leo sighed.

"Would you have wanted someone else to spray paint your own house with insults?" Sagi asked. "Or your own room?"

"I couldn't care less about whatever they do to that house, though I can imagine I'd be a little miffed about my room being destroyed." Chiyo pondered this for a moment. "But it all comes off easily with little damage, so what's the harm?"

"Is it so easy that you'd be willing to clean it off yourself?" Sagi asked.

"I need to go run some errands, I will see you back home, Lytha." Leo patted Chiyo's head. "Try not to get into too much trouble, little missy."

"Little does not equal 'no harm'," Lucy said. "Consider -- right now, you are not experiencing a major consequence, but you can't expect to come out of any situation that easily. Such careless acts can bring greater damage. If it were the house of someone you love and trust that you vandalized, chances would be great for them to start to trust you less, until they completely turn their back on you.

"It does not matter how big or small the damage is -- the intention is bad enough. If you repeat these actions, one day you'll find yourself all alone. And let it be said -- that kind of loneliness is something you do not want to go through..."

"Lucy also has a point," Sagi said with a small nod. "If you wouldn't want someone to do it to you, then someone else likely wouldn't want it done to them, too. You saw how angry Mr. Bare was, right? He's otherwise a laid-back and friendly person. Did you want to make someone like that upset?"

"I still don't really see the harm in it. I mean, how hard can it be to clean off? Plus it's only the first time I've ever done anything to that Bare person, so I don't see why he'd get so angry." Chiyo shrugged again.

"It's generally the last sort of event that would happen at this café. Somebody vandalizing the café because they are careless and ignorant... certainly it'll make him angry. Perhaps now you can be that way, but everything will change one day, for better, or for worse. If you live in your fantasy world and think you can do anything without a care, fine by me, but don't cry when the consequences happen." She breathed in. "Sorry about being a bit more direct now, but hell..."

"Thanks for being upfront with me, Lucy, is it? I do think that I will enjoy living in my fantasy world, because clearly it is much better than this one."

Just then, the door rang open and a crow-headed man walked in with some newly bought supplies. "Hey, Apollo! I brought you the paint remover and scrubber!" The crow loudly yelled to the back room.

"Got it, thanks!" Apollo Bare yelled in response through the wall, out of view.

Chiyo turned at the sound of the door opening again, and her eyes widened. "Is that... a crow-man? Man-crow? What the hell?"

Dr. Crou set aside the plastic bag on the counter and took out a bottle of something and went to the back.

"Since you are afraid to face reality, after all," Lucy said.

"Afraid? Hah!" Chiyo laughed haughtily. "I'm not afraid of anything. Reality isn't for everyone, and clearly this reality isn't for me."

Suddenly, Lucy's voice turns spine-chilling and dark for a second. "Don't get your hopes up too high. You'll learn what true fear is soon enough."

"Doubtful. Fear isn't a word in my vocabulary, unlike you people," she smirked and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you know who that crow-person was just now?"

Then Dr. Crou came around the corner with a bucket, a pair of small rubber gloves, and a scrubbing cloth. "Hm? Lucy, you interrogating the culprit? You really shouldn't do that."

"Umm..." Sagi glanced at Dr. Crou for a moment, a hand over her mouth with alarm, before looking at Lucy, looking very worried.

"Sorry, Crou, I just drifted off there," Lucy said.

"That's fine; you know what Miss Rue said about controlling your emotions." He gave a quick nod to signal to Sagi that it was alright and walked closer to the group.

"Alright, so looks like you're the idiot who vandalized Apollo's place." Dr. Crou took a look at the cat girl and handed her some rubber gloves. "While Apollo is busy looking for your parents, you might as well clean up the mess you made, little Miss."

Chiyo finally felt a small pinprick of fear at the sight of the towering crow-headed man. Still, she tried to appear defiant. "A-And who are you to tell me what to do?" she asked, sticking her nose up.

"Hmm? Oh, I see." Dr. Crou continued to stand over her. "So this is who you guys are dealing with. Well, you don't really need to listen to me, but..." Dr. Crou gently smiled with his eyes, but continues to give an intimidating aura. "I do know how to help Apollo find your parents, little one."

Chiyo had definitely never felt as small as she did in that moment, and she was sure she was shaking like a leaf. "I'll clean the graffiti! No problemo, I'll just get right on that! Thank you for the cleaning supplies, Mr. Crou!"

She stood quickly, smoothing down her skirt, taking the cleaning supplies and dashing out the front door to get to work on scrubbing the spray paint.

Dr. Crou watched the girl rush out of the cafe, pretty puzzled. "Huh, strange. I wasn't even using my dad voice."

"Well, that works, too," Lucy said.

"Now wait a moment--!" the bouncer-like waiter stormed out after her. "You're still not going out of my sight!"

Sagi covered her mouth again, but this time it seemed to be hiding an amused grin.

Chiyo looked to the waiter and stuck her tongue out at him. "Bite it, I'm not leaving. Not while that demon-crow is in there." She shuddered, pulling on the rubber gloves, and staring at her mural. "Um. What am I supposed to do?"

" _You_ bite it, missy, I'm watching you do it the whole time," the waiter said stubbornly, crossing his arms again and doing exactly what he said he would.

Chiyo rolled her eyes. "Well you're not going to be very helpful."

"Anyways, I think I'm leaving for today," Lucy said.

Sagi nodded at Lucy, a little relieved. "All right. Take care, Lucy."

"I will -- see you later, Sagi." s _he_ said, with a small smile and a nod, then leaving.

Chiyo wandered back into the cafe. "Anyone have any idea how to clean paint from a wall?"

"Easy, use some elbow power and give it a good scrub," Lytha said.

"What’s an... elbow power?" Chiyo asked, tilting her head.

"It means use your arm strength," Lytha said. "But if I remember correctly, spray paint is the same as paint, so acetone should help make cleaning easier."

"Oh. Uh, where could I get that much acetone?"

Lytha sighed. "I will be back, for now get started on scrubbing the spray paint." She left.

Chiyo shrugged and walked back outside, scrubbing at the spray paint. "This is so stupid..." she mumbled to herself.

Five minutes later, Lytha returned and said, "I'm back, hows the scrubbing coming along?"

"I don't think this paint is gonna go away any time soon. Can I just go home now?" Chiyo rolled her eyes, standing back and wiping some sweat from her forehead.

"Nope," Lytha said. "Besides I don't think Big Guy here will let you go," Lytha said, side-glancing and pointing at the big guy.

"I mean..." Chiyo side-eyed the waiter before lowering her voice so only Lytha could hear. "I could probably outrun him, if we're being obvious."

Lytha giggled. "No. Now come on, I will help."

Lytha took a cloth and soaked it in acetone and started wiping the parts Chiyo had scrubbed, and the spray paint disappeared.

"Oh! That's like magic!" Chiyo's eyes sparkled a little as she smiled. "Cool!" She soaked her own cloth in acetone and started scrubbing with her.

After 15 minutes of scrubbing, Lytha wiped her forehead. "I think we are done. Phew... how are you holding up, Chiyo?"

Chiyo stepped back to see their handiwork. "Yeah, it seems so." She threw a glance at Lytha, frowning. "My arm hurts, and I'm sweaty. Being made to do this was super stupid, but uhm... thanks for helping, I guess..."

Lytha patted Chiyo's head. "Next time, don't do it again, alright?"

Chiyo shrugged. "Maybe next time I won't do it out in the open."

Lytha gently flicked Chiyo's forehead. "No."

After making sure Calliopea was comfortable, Noah had stepped out of Evanee's house as well to visit Evanee at the cafe. He peeked his head around the corner of the cafe building. He heard Lytha's voice, so maybe Evanee was there too? She wasn’t inside the cafe...

"What's this?" he asked when he saw Lytha and a young girl with cat ears in front of the cafe.

Lytha turned to Noah. "Oh, hi Noah, this is Chiyo the Troublemaker."

Chiyo the Troublemaker, quite the title. He looked at her. "Nice to meet you, I'm Noah." The boy extended his hand.

Chiyo stared at his hand. "What're you doing?"

Noah stared at her. "...Shaking your hand?"

"But my hand isn't cold, why's it gotta shake?" she asked, tilting her head. "Are you dumb or something?"

"It's a form of greeting, Chiyo," Lytha told her.

Noah narrowed his eyes. "She from another dimension? Cause most of the ones I've been to, handshaking is a thing."

Lytha patted Chiyo's head. "Well, from what I know, she hasn't been out a lot. Her parents don't allow her outside."

Chiyo blushed, realizing that this was a custom she hadn’t been informed of while hidden away. "Whatever, I was just messing with you guys." She crossed her arms defensively, rolling her eyes.

"For what? 17 years?!"

"Yep -- wait, I never said her age," Lytha said.

"She looks 17, that rebellious 'I'm old enough to do what I want, but not experienced enough to get away with it' look in her eyes."

"Oh... true."

Chiyo shifted uncomfortably. “I _am_ old enough to do what I want...” She paused, mumbling, “ _Dick._ ”

Noah was speechless.

"I heard that, missy, apologize," Lytha scolded.

"If you’ve been locked up, where'd you learn that?" Noah muttered to himself.

"Sometimes I listen to people talk, I've picked up that that's an insult. And I will not apologize if I'm just stating the truth." Chiyo said, huffing indignantly.

Noah was silent again. "...."

"Chiyo--" Lytha said in an angry voice, "--apologize. It doesn't matter if you are stating the truth; you shouldn't call anyone that."

Dr. Crou walked outside to check on Chiyo. "So, how goes everything?"

Noah glanced at Dr. Crou without a word. "..."

"All's good. Paint's clean, so I can go home now, bye!" Chiyo turned on her heel and started to walk away.

"Hold it!" Dr. Crou grabbed her by the collar.

"Forgive her, Noah, she is still a child..." Lytha said.

"Hm? What did she do, Noah?" Dr. Crou asked.

"Dr. Crou, random question, unrelated to anything.... am I ever a dick?"

Chiyo whined, pawing at Crou’s hand. "Lemme goooo. I'll yell that I'm being kidnapped!"

"No, why would you think that?" Dr. Crou asked Noah.

"No reason, haha, just curious," Noah replied.

Dr. Crou side-eyes Chiyo. "Hmmm..."

"Don't be too hard on her, Dr. Crou," Lytha said.

Noah looked over at Chiyo as well. She reminded him of someone...

"She reminds me of Odin," Lytha said. "Except he's more polite and civil."

Chiyo tried to pry Crou's fingers off of her shirt collar. "Let me go!"

"Patience, kiddo," Noah told her.

"Don't call me kid!" Chiyo leaned down and attempted to bite Crou's hand.

"Well, little one. Looks like I'll need to tell your parents about the trouble you have caused." He was unfazed by Chiyo's attempts of escaping.

"She is one troublemaker," Lytha remarked.

"Lemme know if she squirms too much; I'll time stop her," Noah said to Dr. Crou.

Chiyo's bite rips a bit of the glove to reveal talons underneath.

"Oh, please don't bite like some sort of cat. It takes a while to fix them," Dr. Crou said.

"I'm not a cat! I'm a human girl! Now lemme--" She noticed the talons on the hand holding her and she tried harder to escape. "You freak me out! I'll start kicking you!"

Noah dangled his watch. "Eh? She'll hear and see everything, but less kicking and screaming."

"Sounds like a good idea," Dr. Crou said.

"Oh, Noah, she is a child," Lytha said.

"It won't hurt, Lytha," Dr. Crou replied.

Chiyo readied her foot, preparing to kick Crou's leg.

Lytha sighed. "Go ahead."

Noah put the pocket watch around her neck and twisted the knob, freezing Chiyo in place before she could kick him. "You can speak, but if your heartbeat raises, it'll freeze you again until you calm down."

Lytha turned to Dr. Crou. "I can help sew up the glove."

"It's alright, Lytha. I actually have to perform the magic myself. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Alright," Lytha replied.

Chiyo's eyes looked around fearfully, attempting to move but finding her body completely frozen. "Please don't hurt me..." she said, quietly.

Noah looked at her sympathetically. "We wouldn't. If anyone did, I'd probably beat them up myself. We just want you to grow, that's all." He'd used words like this before.

Lytha turned toward Chiyo, looking with pitying eyes.

"I may not be able to kick, but I can still spit at you," she said, glaring at Noah.

"Go for it. If you want to get your frustrations out that badly, I'm fine with it if it won't hurt people."

"Hmph, pushover." She rolled her eyes. "You make this not fun," she said, pouting.

Noah smirked, tilting his head. He was only a pushover when he knew he had an unfair advantage. "I wonder what Evanee will think of her?"

"I think she will be scolding until tomorrow," Lytha replied.

"Evanee is like that? I suppose I don't really watch her around those who misbehave," Noah remarked.

Dr. Crou looked sternly at the cat girl, keeping his voice low. "Now, little miss. What was your name?"

"None of your business!" She stuck her tongue out at the tall man.

"For someone," Dr. Crou started. "Who vandalized my friend's restaurant, provoked Lucy of all people, ripped my gloves, and who insulted Noah." His voice was rising steadily with every statement. "It is very well my business."

Lytha sighed.

"Say what you want, I'm not tellin'." Chiyo turned her eyes away, still afraid of the crow-man, but not willing to back down easily.

"Chiyo..." Lytha began.

"That's alright. For I guess pleasantries are not necessary with an attitude like that. Miss Chiyo," he said pointedly.

Inside the cafe, sitting quietly by herself, Sagi grew distant. She herself had two younger siblings whom she hadn't been in contact with for some time -- but this girl's stubborn petulance couldn't help but remind her of the younger sister she once lived with... and was none too fond of.

Chiyo blew a raspberry at the crow man. "Whatever, old man. Can I go home now?"

"He isn't that old; he's a handsome youthful guy," Noah said.

"Psh, suck-up," Chiyo retorted.

Lytha giggled.

"Not a suck-up if I'm talking about my family," Noah shrugged.

"Why, yes. You can go home soon. After we have your mother and father visit the cafe to discuss suitable punishment for you. I am sure they will be terribly disappointed in your behavior today."

"Doubt it! All they're gonna do is drag me home and pretend I don't exist again!" She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm just gonna go back to living in that stupid prison home. I'd rather stay here and scrub walls."

"I know. That's why I will personally ask them to have you be supervised under me."

Dr. Crou raised Chiyo's face to meet his ~~blank bird~~ eyes. " _If you ever disrespect me or anyone else during that time, I will personally deal with you myself._ "

Chiyo's bottom lip trembled. "J-just cause you terrify me doesn't m-mean I'm gonna listen to y-you."

"Hmph. You will have to learn how to after all of this."

At this, two figures walked toward the cafe. Dr. Crou walked into the cafe after the two other figures, who happened to be the Mayor and Mr. Cat. There Apollo discussed with Chiyo's parents the misbehavior and actions their daughter had performed and suitable punishment to rectify it. She would be a volunteer employee to work at the cafe and under Apollo, Dr. Crou, and other staff's supervision.


	102. In Which Natasha Visits Takako

"I guess this is the place. I can't believe I missed it the last time," Natasha said to herself as she looked at a very mysterious-looking entrance with a heavy curtain. "But then again, there's no sign that says 'Welcome to Takako the Fortune Teller!'--" Natasha waved her hands in front of her. "--in bright neon lights, so I guess I get a pass?"

She stopped fussing about and pushed past the curtains.

"Ah, hello, Natasha!" Takako said from the other room, though she quickly came out from it into view. "I've been expecting you. I didn't think you'd have such a hard time finding this place -- mayhap I need more signage outside?"

"Well, possibly, considering your clients are probably not fortunetellers themselves. How are you by the way? The elder wanted to know how you were doing."

"Oh, the usual," Takako said with a friendly wave off. "Since a year ago, it hasn't been too exciting around here. But there's always an interesting story to be told somewhere out there."

"I'll go tell the elder that then," Natasha laughed. "I have brought some products and magical items if you are interested in looking. Shall we discuss business here?"

"Yes, of course, of course," Takako said genially, walking over to a table with a cloth draped on it and a crystal ball placed in the middle. She gestures to the chair across from her. "Please sit and make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you!" Natasha gladly took a seat and left her satchel on her lap. "Let's see, we can start with how your business is doing and what kind of demand seems to be trending."

Takako rested her head on her hand. "Well, after that incident a year ago -- a few incidents, really -- there was, as you'd figure, an uptick in the number of people coming to me out of fear or worry..." She shrugged. "But after a few months, it went back to normal -- that is, people coming in to know about their love stories and the stories of daily life." Takako sighed. "Sometimes the questions get too boring even for me."

"Oh, I guess that is a dilemma. Erm, not that you want to start havoc... Is there anything in particular that you think you might need, then? I'm not sure if I would have anything that would help love stories besides a few aesthetic gimmicks."

Takako put a finger on her chin. "On the contrary, aesthetic charms and enchantments make all the difference when someone woos another. I daresay it's ironic that true love often blossoms from illusory fantasies."

"Well, then, I guess I can pull out a few things to see what might catch your fancy." Natasha started pulling out some objects from her satchel. "For romantic gifts, we have a fairy rose bed; a pretty map of the stars with constellations outlined, usually good for astrologists but it should be romantic."

She pulled out a few unusual roses from her satchel. "These are grown from my family's land that my great-grandfather crafted. The Everlasting Roses. Comes in singles or bunches of dozen or half dozen. The current variety we have in season are classic red, rose gold, pearl, and rainbow."

Takako tilted her head curiously. "Oh, I know a certain client who would be tickled to impress his loved one who adores flowers. I think that would come in handy very soon."

"Alright, you can fill out this form whenever you need the roses. We do have this catalogue of various special flowers we grow."

Takako took the form with her long-nailed fingers and looked it over. "Duly noted. How long can I expect them to come in?"

"The usual lead time will be at most two days, depending on the size of the order. We can expedite it in half a day if it is urgent, but there will be a rush charge."

"As is to be expected," Takako nodded. "Might there be anything else of interest, or shall I begin my services?"

"I guess I can first ask if you have any contacts who might be interested in my wares?"

Takako touched her chin again, thinking. "In this world? Not many who would be wanting them wholesale, I'm afraid. There are many who would be interested in them of singles or small amounts, however."

"That is fine, although I will need to offer more rare items to make up for the costs."

"If you believe the exchange to be worth it, here are the calling cards of the few I know," Takako said, sliding a few cards with contact information on them across the table toward her. "As for whether you pursue them or not, that is of course up to you."

"Sure thing." Natasha took the cards and pocketed them.

Takako clasped her hands in front of her on top of the table, resting them just behind the crystal ball at its center. "Well, then... shall I begin?"

"Yes, albeit a bit nervous."

"Don't be," Takako waved a hand at her. "Just ask me a question about things of interest to you at this moment. I shall merely speak of matters relevant to that."

"Haha, it's just these kinds of situations, you never know what to expect. I guess I can ask if there's anything in my future that is noteworthy to my career or my family."

"Mmm, a common question," Takako noted, nodding. "Well, from what I've seen of your story, it seems that one of your family -- a sister, perhaps? -- has become entangled with, oddly enough, someone related to a certain Dr. Crou you met some time ago," she said. "As for who? That I have yet to discern."

"Huh, strange. Who in the Storybook world would Dr. Crou know?" Natasha mused.

"Though, what might concern you more..." Takako said, looking up at Natasha solemnly. "Your family will certainly become increasingly significant to you in the days to come -- in a way that will, unfortunately, force you to choose between those you care about, who yet live in very different worlds."

Natasha furrowed her brows trying to discern Takako's statement. "Which world? Half of my sisters are far away from Ipswich, including me since I'm staying with Evanee."

Takako raised her eyebrows. "Not all those you care about are related to you by blood," she said seriously.

Natasha stared blankly at the woman. Giving herself a minute, she decided to ask again. "Is this...about Evanee?"

Takako merely folded her hands soberly. "I don't imagine she will take well to your absence in her life," she continued. "You know full well what that child grapples with day to day. The fact that she leans on you and depends on you may end up costing you your own freedom, to be who you truly wish to be. Will that be the case? That I do not yet know."

Natasha sighed. "I see. It's something I know I need to decide, but I can't just yet."

Takako closed her eyes knowingly. "That is, after all, still your future to determine."

"It is, indeed. Well, thank you for bringing that to my attention. I guess it is a bigger question than the thought I have been giving it."

Takako smiled mysteriously. "But, take heart -- this sort of story tends to have a conclusion you may not expect at first, but turns out for the best in the end."

"Ah, thank you. I guess I need to get going now to prepare the forms. Let me know if you see interested in any more things."

Takako nodded, holding a hand out entreatingly toward the door. "Fare thee well, then, Natasha. We will meet again."

"I will count on it." Natasha waved goodbye.


	103. In Which Lorelei and Zari First Visit the Cafe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New original characters introduced:  
> \- Lorelei (created by chamomilecanary)  
> \- Zari (created by Tjsmar)

A ginger-haired girl named Lorelei walked into the cafe, her arms full of old books from the library. There were dark bags underneath her eyes. She had probably slept at the library that night. She plopped down into the nearest available seat, unloading the books on the table before her.

Evanee had turned over the open sign, it was a nice morning, and she had gotten off work early the day before and took some time to write, so she was feeling cheerful. "Oh, good morning; first time in?"

"Y-Yeah..." Lorelei covered a yawn and looked up sleepily. "You s-serve c-coffee, right?"

"Mhmm. Want anything added to it? Or just drip?"

"I w-would like 10 sh-shots of e-espresso. And a s-scone, p-please, if-if you h-have any." The ginger stifled another yawn and opened the book on top of her stack. The Prince and the Raven -- a favorite of hers.

Evanee smiled at the title and moved herself behind the counter. The 10 shots weren't... too unusual, especially considering other customers would get similar amounts. ~~Such as Lytha...~~

Just then, Lytha walked into the cafe, yawning. "Hey... Evanee, can I get a super-strong cinnamon coffee?"

"Apparently thinking of the Devil works too... on it," Evanee flipped the coffee machine switch again, before walking towards Lorelei and setting her coffee down. "I'm Evanee, by the way."

Lorelei eyed the coffee cup like it was life-saving medicine before glancing up at Evanee. "I-It's a p-pleasure to m-meet you. I-I'm L-Lorelei." Lei then descended on the cup of espresso like the plague descended on medieval Europe. She needed it.

Evanee smiled. "I like you." She turned to Lytha. "How many hours did you get?"

"....Umm," Lytha just laughed nervously.

Lytha took a seat opposite Lorelei. "Can I sit here? Name's Lytha."

Lorelei nodded, pushing aside her stack of books to the side of the table to give Lytha more room. "G-Good to meet y-you. I'm L-Lorelei. You c-can c-call me L-Lei though, i-it's m-much less of a m-mouthful."

"Nice to meet you," Lytha yawned.

Evanee came back around. "Here's that scone, and the coffee for you, Lytha."

"Thanks, Evanee."

Starving from having skipped dinner the previous night, Lorelei hurriedly stuffed the scone in her mouth, her eyes still cast down onto the page she was reading.

The door bell rang, and a girl with pastel pink and lavender-ombre hair walked in with a satchel to her side. She waved at the other girls with a bright smile. "Hey, girls! How y'all doing?"

"Hey Natasha, I'm doing just -- _yawn --_ fine," Lytha said.

"Nat!" Evanee called out.

Lorelei gave the pink-haired girl a barely noticeable, very awkward wave. This was the most human interaction she had in weeks. The library wasn't exactly teeming with people. She placed a napkin in her book as a bookmark, just to be safe.

Natasha went over and hugged Evanee and Lytha. She turned to Evanee, ready to share with her some news. "I finally got to meet that Takako person the elder was talking about! I can't believe I walked past that store so many times."

"Oh, how exciting! I do hope you will go into detail," Evanee replied.

"Ah, let me sit down for a moment. Can you get me an almond mocha latte?" Natasha asked.

"Oh, get me a shortcake and another cinnamon coffee, please," Lytha added.

"Busy at work again, Lytha?" Natasha asked.

"Oh, this time it wasn't work -- it was Leo's mum."

Natasha then noticed the girl sitting on the other side of Lytha. "Ah, sorry to bother you. I haven't seen you here before. The name's Natasha."

Lorelei glanced up from her book, which she had gone back to reading soon after. "I-I haven't c-come here b-before. My n-name's L-Lorelei. I wasn't b-bothered at all."

After taking down their orders, Evanee gave a quick nod and rushed to the kitchen before adding, "I'll put your items on the counter, but I have to get a catering order ready for 3 o'clock. I'd love to chat, but..."

"Ah right! That huge order you told me about. I'll tell you afterwards then, Evanee," Natasha said.

Lei looked at Evanee. "I-Is this c-cafe very p-popular, then? To d-do c-catering?"

"It sure is. It's one of my favorite places to hang out," Natasha said to Lei.

"I s-see -- I s-suppose I'll h-have to v-visit more o-often then," she nodded to herself before pausing for a moment. "This... is a b-bit of an odd qu-question, but w-were you all b-born here? In G-Goldkrone?"

"Nope, I'm from Ipswich, the town next to the Storybook Forest. I'm actually just visiting," Natasha replied.

"No, actually, my birth place is somewhere else. But I like Goldkrone," Lytha said.

"Ah... I-I see. I d-don't r-remember if I've e-ever been to I-Ipswich, but I'm s-sure it's n-nice. I d-don't leave t-town very o-often." Lorelei began fidgeting uncomfortably with the pages of the Prince and the Raven.

Then Lytha noticed Lorelei fidgeting. "Oh, sorry -- we must be making you feel uncomfortable."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I know it's not for everyone, but I like to travel to different places," Natasha said.

Lorelei laughed somewhat nervously and shook her head. "N-no, i-it's n-not that. I w-was b-born outside of G-Goldkrone, too. I-It's just... ah, it's b-been a while since I've t-taken a trip b-back home, is a-all."

"Oh, I need to get going, though, I just wanted to drop by to see how you two were doing. See y'all later." Natasha went to the counter to pick up her order and left with a brisk goodbye.

"Bye!" Lytha said.

Lorelei waved at Natasha as the other girl took her leave. "G-Goodbye, i-it was n-nice to m-meet you."

"Sooo, Lorelei, I see you like that book a lot," Lytha remarked.

"I d-do really l-like it. Prinz und R-Rabe was the f-favorite s-story of my b-brothers and I. W-We'd used to s-stay up all night th-thinking up endings f-for it. A-Are you at a-all f-familiar with it?"

"I am," Lytha replied.

"W-Wonderful! Wh-what are your th-thoughts on i-it? I m-might be a l-little nostalgic, b-but it's my f-favorite story."

"I can't say much, just that it was the kids' favorite bedtime story."

Lorelei smiled and nodded, though she looked ever so slightly disappointed. "Th-that's what m-most people u-usually say. Oh, e-except this o-one boy in the l-library. H-He's a l-little too excited a-about Drosselmeyer's w-works, I think."

Lytha flinched. "Would that boy be Autor, by chance?"

Lorelei nodded, her expression pained. "Y-Yes. I c-can't read in the l-library anymore d-during the d-daytime. He th-thinks I l-like Drosselmeyer, but r-really I just l-like P-Prinz und Rabe."

"Of course it would be him. I mean, who else is soo obsessed with the old man?" Lytha mumbled. She coughed, then asked, "Ahem... anyways, why do you like the story?"

"M-My o-older brothers and I-I would r-read it as ch-children. Though, I n-never knew it w-was s-supposed to be a t-tragedy until r-recently." Lorelei laughed fondly. "G-Gerhart would always ch-change it so the kn-knight and that p-princess weren't really d-dead. He'd m-make it so they c-come back and kill the R-Raven with the P-Prince. I p-prefer m-my brother's v-version, but D-Drosselmeyer's original w-works too, I guess."

"How did your brother's version end?"

"It e-ended with th-the Kingdom saved, and the P-Prince b-became a K-King and married the P-Princess! And th-the Knight r-retired from f-fighting and went to l-live by a r-river in peace and f-feed ducks and stuff." Lorelei giggled. "S-So, a l-lot different. My other b-brother and I l-loved it, though."

Lytha smiled. "It's nice to see a happy ending and not a tragic one."

Lorelei nodded in wholehearted agreement. "You w-wouldn't believe the l-look on Autor's f-face when I t-told him it, though. It l-looked like I j-just spat in his m-mother's face."

Lytha blinked. "Hehe... that's Autor, alright. So, what class are you in at the academy?"

"I t-take w-writing classes at the a-academy. I-It's a l-lot of fun! We're c-currently working on w-writing short s-stories. That's why I h-have all of th-these," Lorelei gestured at her pile of books. "M-Most of them _aren't_ for f-fun. Most of th-them. I l-like looking at w-writing reference b-books. I f-find it h-helps me feel more c-confident." She looked at Lytha. "D-Do you take c-classes at the a-academy?"

The door bell rang and Selene stepped inside the cafe.

"Oh, I'm in the music class and ballet class," Lytha said, then she noticed Selene. "Hey, Selene!"

Lorelei turned around to see who stepped in. She offered a small, polite wave.

Selene waved shyly back and went to sit at one of the other tables.

"But having to go to two classes is not easy," Lytha said.

"Oh, I-I'll bet! I-I don't think I c-could do w-writing and s-something else. Wh-What instrument d-do you play?"

"Oh, I sing; well, I can play a bit of piano."

"Th-That's wonderful! I can p-play a 'p-peter peter pumpkin e-eater' on the p-piano, but not m-much else, I'm a-afraid. I'm n-not at all m-musically inclined. Or m-much of a d-dancer, either. I have t-two l-left feet, so I r-really admire p-people in the b-ballet department!"

"Well, anyone can be a dancer, with a bit of practice and willpower," Lytha said.

Lorelei shook her head. "I-I think I'll s-stick to my b-books. I d-don't want to s-step on anyone's f-feet. I'd l-love to come o-observe sometime, though!"

"That would be nice, you can come over to the ballet class whenever you are free."

"I'd l-love that! Th-Thank you so m-much."

"You're welcome," Lytha smiled as she sipped on her coffee.

Leo arrived at the cafe to see Lytha talking to another girl. He walked up to their table. "Hi, Lytha, and hello, Miss...?"

"L-Lorelei. Are you a-also a f-friend of Lytha's? Wh-What's your name?"

"Name's Leo, Leo Knightwalker. Pleasure to meet you."

"Kn-Knightwalker, huh? Th-that's a c-cool last name. The p-pleasure's all m-mine. D-Do y-you want to s-sit with us?"

"If you don't mind."

"P-Please do," Lorelei gestured to an empty seat. It was still a little nerve-wracking to talk to these new people, but it was becoming all the easier with the five shots of espresso now freely flowing through her veins.

Lytha got up to go pick up their food from the counter as Leo went to sit at the empty seat. "So, I take it you go to the academy?"

"Yes! I-I've gone to the A-Academy since I w-was... ten, p-probably? I do l-literature. Do you go -- or a-are you a g-graduate or something?" Lorelei laughed. "I-I'm not really the b-best at t-telling people's a-ages."

Leo chuckled. "No, I don't, I'm homeschooled." He noticed Selene sitting a distance away. "Miss Selene, why not join us?" Leo pointed to an empty seat.

She did recognize Leo, though the other two were unknown to her. Yet, she had to get rid of her shyness, so she nodded and sat down on the empty seat at the table.

Lytha returns to the table with some food and drinks. "Hey, I'm back -- oh hi, Selene. Glad you could join us." Lytha took her seat.

"Hello, Lytha. How are you doing?" Selene asked.

"Doing well. Oh, Selene, this is Lorelei -- Lorelei, this is Selene."

Lorelei offered Selene a small smile and a wave. "It's n-nice to m-meet you, Selene."

"Nice to meet you as well, Lorelei."

"So, d-do all of y-ou know e-each other?" Lei gestured to the other people sitting around the table. She had the good sense to discreetly move her stack of books from the table to her lap -- she didn't want her stuff to take up more space than needed.

"Yep!" Lytha replied.

"I do know Lytha and Leo indeed. I'm especially on very good terms with Lytha," Selene said.

"I'm naturally friendly," Lytha scratched her hair, smiling.

"Well, that's true," Selene said, shrugging. "Which some people say it's a bad thing."

"I w-wish I-I were a l-little more o-outgoing!" Lorelei laughed, fidgeting with her fingers slightly. "I've l-lived here about s-six years, and I s-still know hardly a-anybody. Being f-friendly is d-definitely a good th-thing."

"Well, you are in luck; now you made four friends," Lytha said.

"I was born here, and before I met Lytha, Evanee, Lucy and some others, I was kinda shy and did not really have friends. That's, however, in the past," Selene added.

Lorelei smiled widely, obviously excited by the notion. "A-Awww, th-thank you! That's really n-neat. I'd l-love to be f-friends w-with you g-guys. I-I just h-have a n-nasty habit of k-keeping to myself and s-spending t-too much time i-in the library."

"Well, I can relate to that shyness," Selene said.

"Yep, can relate," Lytha added.

"Can't relate all too often," Evanee skipped over, her hands gathered behind her back

"Hey, Evanee, done with the catering?" Lytha asked.

She nodded "Just wrapped up a few minutes ago."

Lytha patted a seat. "Here, take a seat."

"Hello, Evanee," Leo said.

"H-How w-was the c-catering?"

"I'm certainly tired, but everything is good now," Evanee sat down.

"Well, at least it's over now," Lytha said, sipping her coffee. "So, Lorelei, other than that story, are there any other stories you like?"

"U-Um, I'm a h-huge fan of f-fairy tales in g-general. S. M-Morgenstern is a f-favorite author of m-mine, as well as H-Hans Christian Anderson. C-Classical literature t-tends to be what I g-gravitate to."

"Where's Noah, Evanee?" Leo asked.

"I haven't the faintest idea. I assume at home?"

"So how long do you spend in the library?" Lytha asked.

"Well, uhh... I s-slept there last n-night. M-Most of my t-time outside of s-school is spent th-there, but I should p-probably change that. M-My Auntie has been b-bugging me about m-meeting people, and A-Autor is nice, but n-not the best c-company around."

 _He was never the best company,_ Lytha thought.

A young woman of purple hair made her way into the cafe, stopping to look around upon standing at the entryway.

Lytha noticed the new girl. "That's some bright purple hair."

Evanee popped up. "Ooo, I've never seen her before." She looked over. "Can I help you?"

The purple-haired young woman named Zari made her way over ever so cautiously. "Yes, I was wondering if you had biscuits here?"

Evanee smiled. "Sure do, I'll get a few for you?"

She nodded, watching as the waitress went to the back.

"Poor Evanee, never a break," Lytha said.

Lorelei looked around the cafe. "I-Is she the o-only one w-working right now?"

"Hmmm, there is another one, but she dosen't start until tomorrow," Lytha replied.

Zari bit her lip. "I suppose if it's too much work, I could leave and come back tomorrow?"

"Oh no no, please take a seat. She will be back shortly; Evanee is the best waitress here," Lytha said.

Zari hesitantly sat down. "I apologize for any intrusions I may be causing."

"No, it's okay. I'm Lytha, and this is Leo, Lorelei, and Selene."

"Hello," Leo said.

"What's your name?" Lorelei asked.

"Ah, my name is Zari. Nice to meet you all. You seem like a very nice group of... students, I presume?"

"I'm homeschooled," Leo replied.

"I d-do go to th-the a-academy. And L-Lytha, you s-said you did m-music and ballet, d-didn't you?" Lorelei asked.

"Yep," Lytha replied.

Zari nodded.

"Here you are, miss!" Evanee exclaimed, giving Zari a small pastry bag.

"Ah, and here's the money for that. Anyways, I must get going, I have work to do. It was nice to meet you all."

"Oh, goodbye, then," Evanee said.

"Goodbye," Lytha said.

With that, Zari departed the cafe, biscuits in hand.

Lorelei's eyes widened and she stood up in a hurry. "Th-That r-reminds me -- A-Auntie is g-going to be c-completely b-beside herself! I n-never went h-home yesterday; I n-need to g-get going."

"Huh, usually when people come in for the first time, they stay for a while..." Evanee remarked. "Regardless, thank you for coming in, Lorelei, I hope to see you often," Evanee gave a small smile.

"Safe trip home, Lorelei," Lytha said.

"See you soon, Lorelei," Selene said.

"P-Pray that my A-Auntie d-doesn't s-skin me alive! G-Goodbye!"

And with that, Lorelei sped out the door and back home.


	104. In Which Noah Has a Talk with Leo

Noah sighed, taking a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

Leo opened the door. "Who is it?"

"The only guy who'd knock on your door." Noah gave Leo a small wave, putting his hands back in his pockets.

"Noah, what brings you here?" Leo asked.

"I was wondering if you were busy."

"I'm free," Leo replied.

"Alright then; what do you think -- take a walk with me?"

"Hm? Sure, why not." Leo turned inside. "Lytha, I'm going on a walk with someone -- take care of the house."

"Have fun," Lytha shouted.

"Come on, let's go, Noah."

The two walked around Kinkan for a little, past the shops and toward the theater. Finally, Noah spoke up. "I just wanted to apologize... for how I treated you when we first met."

"Why the sudden apology?"

Noah sighed. "It's just. Since I visited home, I think things have changed a lot for me. You started going out with Lytha, and well, when I met your parents the other day, I realized there isn't anything wrong with you. I'm just..." He paused. "Jealous."

"I can say the same."

"..." Noah stared at Leo. " _W_ _hat_."

"Back then before I dated Lytha, I notice you were close to her, and I felt... jealous."

"You... felt jealous of... me?" Noah stood there, baffled. "Of all people, Prince Charming, with gorgeous eyes and hair, felt jealous of me?!"

"Hey, I am human."

"How did you do it?" Noah asked.

"Do what?" Leo asked.

"Ya know, you and Lytha. How did you get her to... do whatever you did?"

"Funny enough, she was the one who first approached me."

"Well, that doesn't help my situation..." Noah gave a small sulk.

"I just got up my courage and confessed," Leo admitted.

"Do you think that would work with... the girl I like?"

Leo patted Noah's back. "I'm sure it will."

"But she's so... I don't even know how to describe it. I don't think she'd think I was serious even if I told her. And if I do, who's to say she feels the same way?"

"...She will, I'm sure she will feel the same way. Besides, at the time you told her that, you sounded like a flirt," Leo chuckled.

"I don’t think she does feel that way, though; she's acted the same around you," Noah said dubiously.

"You will never know unless you try."

Noah sighed. "I'll shift conversation real quick. You and your brother? Are you close? It seems your family is pretty tight-knit."

"Me and Luke? Yeah, I'd say we are close."

Noah nodded. "Family is important. It's not necessarily my place to say this, but always look out for him."

"...Did something happen in your family?" Leo asked.

Noah gave a soft smile. "Yeah. I may be a time traveler, but I can't change my past. I can only prevent it from happening to others."

"Did you lose someone close?"

"It was in my world. My family had traveled back to a decade of severe economic disparities and high crime rates. My parents were helping an immigrant family of silkies get adjusted when my sister and I heard about multiple deaths in the area that had been happening once a month.

"As kids with too much knowledge, we investigated it. The creature had one last victim that night before it died. I wasn't the one it chose for prey..."

Noah shifted. He didn't tell this story to anyone, really. He wasn't expecting to tell Leo of all people. "Just take care of him. And Lytha, too."

"I, too, lost someone I loved," Leo said. "To tell the truth, I was engaged to someone before I met Lytha."

"Leo... I didn't know. What--what happened?"

"Her name was Angelica, and she was like my sun in the darkness. Three years ago, I proposed to her and she agreed; her parents were also happy for her _."_ Leo smiled sadly. "But what happened to her was my fault." Leo looked at his hands.

"Leo..."

"Hers was also a family of knights, so we trained together and went on missions together. But on one mission, she was poisoned, and there was no place that had the cure except the castle. I wanted to bring her back to the castle and ask for the cure, but she said she wasn't going to make it... instead, she asked I end her pain. At first I refused, but even as we headed for the castle, time was running out; she was in extreme pain and close to death, crying at me to end it quickly... it was then that I killed her."

"Then it wasn't your fault. You did what she wished." But Noah knew his efforts to make Leo feel better were futile. If someone has said the same thing to him—that it wasn't his fault— he still would deny such claims and continue to blame himself. "Looks like you and I are a lot more alike than I thought... does Lytha know?"

"She... no, Lytha doesn't need to know."

"I understand your reasoning. But you should tell her eventually. If you are serious about her. If you care about her, you'll need to tell her before you can move on. So both of you can grow together."

"I will soon, but not now. Even now, I still remember her pleas."

Noah nodded. She had sputtered out words as well before her soul left. If anyone could understood Leo's emotions, he would.

"So... how are you and Evanee doing?"

"Hm? It's been okay. It seems something's changed in my absence. She's distant, but at the same time... more expressive and open."

"You have to thank Natasha for that," Leo said.

"Yes, I suppose I do," Noah said. "Still, I should have been there for her through all of what had happened."

"I'm sure you can do so for her now," Leo replied, smiling.

The two of them talked as they went around town for a little longer before saying goodbye and heading back to their respective homes.


	105. In Which Selene Talks with Cyrus After School

Selene was waiting at the school for a certain boy to eventually come out. It was only five minutes before said boy, Cyrus, walked out. He spotted Selene instantly and walked to her.

"Hey, Sel. I suppose you were waiting for me?"

"I was. I decided to pick you up from school today," Selene said.

"Fine by me," he said, slightly smiling as they started to walk off to their home.

"Did anything interesting happen in school today?" Selene asked.

Cyrus shook his head. "No, not at all. Everything as usual."

"Better than something bad, I suppose. Either way, there is something I wanted to ask you."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Aside from what happened recently, did you ever come across supernatural happenings?"

"Aside from the 'raven girl' thing I had happen to me recently according to Odin, not really," Cyrus replied. "Why do you ask?"

"The raven girl...whether it happened or not, what do you think was the reason?" Selene asked.

"Wish I knew, but I don't."

"A friend and I theorized that she did not want to do it, that it was not in her control to do so."

"Possibly. There's only the hope that it won't happen again."

"It won't. I'm sure of it," Selene answered.

"Either way, why the sudden topic change?"

"I just was thinking a lot about these recent happenings, that is all, really."

"Okay then. I got another question for you, though," Cyrus said.

"Which one?"

"Since you seem to have overcome your shyness somewhat, why not get enrolled into the academy? I mean, you told me that you have friends there. I don't see a reason why not."

"It is interesting, since I've recently thought about it, too. I am quite unsure. Though..." Selene paused. "It wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Just give it a try. I'm sure you will like it."

"...I will think about it," Selene said.

"That's good."

"Though, at some point, you gotta come with me to a pretty nice café not far away from here."

"I definitely could, sometime."

Eventually, they reached their home and entered, gradually ending the conversation with Cyrus's possible class change and other topics.


	106. In Which Caras Visits Kinkan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Caras (created by Tomoyo Ichijouji, from the fanfic "Chapter of the Bird")

On a sunny day with a few benign clouds in the sky, Sagi walked back toward the dorms after school. It had been a long day, and at the moment wasn't feeling up to visiting the cafe that particular afternoon.

Up until then, she hadn't been aware that a lone raven had following her from a quiet distance in the trees. However, she sensed a flash of black from the corner of her eye behind her. She turned around, and appearing before her in a flurry of black feathers was someone she hadn't thought she'd meet again for a long while.

Standing there was a dark-haired young man dressed in black and gray with a lavender cravat, shaking his head with a disappointed sigh. "Oh, curses, I had hoped to sneak up on you," he said with an irritated shrug.

Sagi's eyes widened. "Is... could it really be...? Caras! It _is_ you!" Excitedly, without thinking, she suddenly ran over and gave him an affectionate hug, much to the latter's immense surprise.

"Wha--!" Caras blinked, too astonished to reply for a moment. "...Oh, so that's how it is -- you're the one who surprises _me_ ," he said with a wry grin.

After he said this, Sagi became self-conscious and quickly let him go, hopping backward a step, her hands clasped together nervously. "Oh, dear, I'm so sorry! I was just--I really wasn't expecting..." She took a breath, pausing for a moment. "I'm just... really happy to see you," she added with a gentle smile.

The dark-haired young man returned it with an equally gentle one. "Likewise, Miss Sagi."

The two continued walking, seemingly toward the dorms but in reality merely a way for them to go while talking. "Are you already done with your travels?" she asked with interest. "I thought it was a journey which would take longer than that..."

He shook his head. "No, I'm by no means finished. There's still so much more for me to see. But were you expecting that I wouldn't return merely to visit you in the meanwhile?" he asked pointedly.

Sagi blinked. "Oh! Umm... I suppose you didn't necessarily say you wouldn't..." she said a bit sheepishly. "But either way, I'm glad you did. I began to miss you for a while..."

Lorelei was heading in the way of the school from her Auntie's house, humming and daydreaming. She had just finished the Prince and the Raven again. In her distracted state, she accidentally bumped into Sagi. "O-Oh d-dear, I'm s-sorry!"

"Ah!" Sagi was slightly taken aback by the accidental bump, but replied almost by habit, "No, it's all right. Are you okay?"

Caras next to her glanced swiftly in Lorelei's direction, making an instant judgment as to whether this person posed a danger to Sagi or not. Deciding it was unlikely, he raised an eyebrow and replied evenly, "Watch where you're going there."

Lorelei laughed nervously and nodded. "I-I will. I'm n-not usually so c-clumsy. I'm f-fine, are y-you though?" Lorelei asked, looking the blue-haired girl up and down.

Lytha had just exited the dorms and was walking to school to finish her project when she saw Lorelei and Sagi. "Lorelei? Sagi?"

Lorelei smiled and waved. "H-Hey, Lytha."

Sagi tilted her head. "Oh, Miss Lytha! Good afternoon. Is this a friend of yours?"

"Hey Sagi -- yep, this is Lorelei. We met at the cafe recently, and now we are friends. Lorelei, this is Sagi, also one of my friends."

Lorelei offered a hand and a smile to Sagi. "It's n-nice to m-meet you, Sagi. A-And your f-friend, too. Wh-what's your name?"

Sagi shook her hand. "Nice to meet you," she replied politely, before turning to Caras. "And this is--"

"Odin is my name," he replied over her. "But you may hear this one call me Caras by habit, which is a name I used at one point."

"That's n-neat," Lorelei said. "O-Odin's a fun n-name. P-Papa used to l-love all that N-Norse m-mythology stuff."

"Odin?!" Lytha was shocked. "...But you look much older?"

Lorelei looked at Lytha, confused. "O-Older...?"

The older Odin, or Caras, looked at Lytha with a raised eyebrow. "Older than who, exactly?"

"The Odin I know is like this tall," Lytha said, holding one hand to her shoulder. "And you are definitely Odin, but so much older..."

Caras stared at Lytha for a moment. "...You know a child, then? A young raven boy?"

"Yep, Odin."

"I-Is he a y-younger r-relative of yours?" Lorelei asked.

Caras closed his eyes pensively for a moment. "...Perhaps he is," he replied vaguely. "I suppose I won't know for sure until I meet him in person." Caras touched his chin thoughtfully. "Where might I find this boy?"

"Well...the cafe, maybe?" Lytha pondered aloud.

He looked at Lytha again. "'The' cafe? There are quite a number of cafes in this town."

"Well, why dont I show you? I'm heading there, anyways," Lytha said, smiling.

Sagi looked at Caras with a smile. "I've been there a lot recently," she said. "It's a nice little place -- maybe if you're feeling up for it, we can visit there for a bit?"

Caras looked back at her, folding his arms. "Hmm... if you like that place, I suppose it wouldn't hurt," he said. "With any luck, that boy will happen across the place at some point while we're there."

"Come on, let's go! My treat. You coming, Lorelei?"

Lorelei nodded and smiled. "I'm t-trying to avoid my A-Auntie right now, a-anyway."

"To the cafe!" Lytha exclaimed.

~~~~~~~~~

"Here it is -- the cafe," Lytha said to Caras as they stood outside Apollo's cafe.

Caras folded his arms as he stood next to Sagi. "Hm. Bigger than I expected."

"It tends to be pretty quiet most of the time," Sagi said to him. "I usually leave when it gets too busy."

"Come on, let's go in and eat, I'm sure everyone is hungry." Lytha entered the cafe and sat at a large table.

"Th-They have r-really good s-scones," Lorelei said. "And p-pizza, p-probably, but I've o-only had their s-scones and their e-espresso."

As they walked in and took their seats, Caras looked at Sagi wryly. "Seems you've gotten fairly social while I was gone," he remarked. "You're quite familiar with this Lytha girl, and now you're chatting up a friend of hers you just met."

"You think so?" Sagi asked. "I suppose this cafe has done quite a bit getting me out of the dorms with others around."

Lorelei nodded in agreement. "F-For me, too. I d-didn't have many f-friends until a few d-days ago, but n-now I've met L-Lytha and a few others."

"Go ahead and order what you guys want," Lytha added.

As a waiter came by their table, Caras ordered a simple black coffee before turning back to the table and folding his hands, waiting for the others to finish ordering. Sagi ordered some jasmine tea as the waiter came around to her. Lytha ordered a cinammon coffee and strawberry shortcake, and Lei ordered a hot chocolate and a blueberry scone.

After the waiter nodded and went off to retrieve their orders, Odin glanced at Lytha, leaning on his arm. "So, then, Miss Lytha -- tell me what you know of this raven boy you say shares my name. You're obviously familiar with him."

"Yep, he is one of my best friends; I've always treated him like a little brother."

Odin raised an eyebrow. "You don't say?" he asked. "How long have you known him now? Has he been here for some time?"

"Hmmmm, I have known him for a few months; he first came here the same time I did, shortly before Drosselmeyer showed up again."

"D-Drosselmeyer...? L-Like the author of th-that old s-story?" Lorelei asked.

"Crap, I forgot..." Lytha said nervously. "Ahahaha, yeah, there was a old man who was also named Drosselmeyer."

Lorelei nodded, accepting that explanation easily enough. "O-Oh, I see. That's a p-pretty f-funny coincidence. It's s-such a w-weird name for s-someone to have."

Caras silently noted the completely casual way with which Lytha had mentioned Drosselmeyer's name. "Is that so? Causing trouble for you now, is he?" he asked in a similarly casual tone.

"That old man is forever causing trouble..." Lytha grumbled.

"What has he done lately?" he asked, studying Lytha's reactions.

"Well, nothing really, other than returning me my freedom."

Lorelei gave Lytha another confused look. She opened her mouth to say something, but opted out of it and chose to continue to watch the interaction.

"Mind explaining what your 'freedom' is from?" Caras asked wryly, smirking a little.

"Well, back then I made a deal with the old man -- in exchange for leaving me and my family out of his tragedies, I wasn't allowed to leave the town, and some of my memories were sealed."

"Um, L-Lytha... what s-sort of m-man is this?" Lorelei was rather concerned for her friend at this point. "Wh-why haven't you g-gone to the police if h-he's th-threatening you? I'll g-go with you, i-if you're scared. That's t-terrible."

"....." Lytha sighed. "I might as well say it. The Drosselmeyer I'm talking about is that same Drosselmeyer. The author of that old story."

Lorelei was truly confused at this point. "H-How can _that_ b-be? He's b-been six feet under s-since b-before we w-were all b-born."

"I'm aware of who Drosselmeyer is," Caras said, furrowing a brow. "But you say he freed you from this imprisonment? Of his own volition?"

"Yep. One night I wanted to see if I could leave, and he suddenly appeared in front of me and gave me back my freedom of his own free will. Odin was there protecting me along with Autor." Lytha turned to the redhead at the table. "Oh, and Lorelei... he is dead, but he can sort of appear if he wanted to."

"Th-That's not how d-dead people w-work."

Lytha was silent. "..."

"Think of him as a resident poltergeist," Caras said to Lorelei. "Surely you're aware of the magic in this town by now."

"I m-mean, umm... I g-guess there was some w-weird s-stuff that happened a w-while back, but n-nothing has been e-especially magical. B-But I d-don't get out m-much, so, umm... I d-don't r-really know."

"So...Odin? Wait, should I call you Caras?" Lytha asked.

Caras sighed briefly. "Seeing as you know another named Odin already, you may use that name to avoid confusion. You know what my real name is, either way."

"Okay, Caras...what brings you here?"

Caras sat back in his chair, putting an arm on the back of it. "A few things. One, I've heard tales of a raven boy haunting the town -- one who was the incarnation of a monster," he said evenly. "Thus my questioning you. But second, and more importantly--" He thumbed at Sagi next to him. "I had to check on this girl here. Being away from her gave me little comfort as to her wellbeing, and I was beginning to miss her anyway."

Sagi looked slightly startled at his referring to her so casually, but said nothing.

"Well, the rumors are false," Lytha said.

"You sound so sure of that," Caras remarked. "How are you so certain?"

"Because I know Odin, and he would never do anything like that."

~~~~~~~~~

Out in town, Marilee had finished her classes for the day. She looked a bit tired as she went toward the cafe. She opened the door and stepped inside, still looking at the book she was studying.

Lorelei was beginning to look a bit pale. Seeing the girl with the books who just entered the cafe, she saw a temporary out. "E-Excuse me, everyone, I-I'm going t-to, umm... go t-talk to my f-friend o-over there..." Without waiting for a response, Lei flounced off to talk to the girl, hoping for a brief reprieve from the confusing topics and general chaos.

Marilee didn’t notice Lorelei approach her until she noticed movement in the corner of her eye. She looked up and nearly jumped. "CAW! I MEAN! H-hi...” she said, her face flushed, a little embarrassed.

Lorelei smiled good-naturedly. "H-Hi, I'm so s-sorry for f-frightening you. M-My friends are having a b-bit of a p-private c-conversation and I th-thought I'd come s-say hello. I'm L-Lorelei, wh-what's your n-name?"

Marilee shook her head. "I-It's okay! Really! Oh! I'm Marilee. It's nice to meet you, caw!"

"It's n-nice to m-meet you too, M-Marilee. W-Would you t-tell me about the b-book you're reading?"

"Oh, I'm reading a play. Apparently, they want me to play the main role... only I don't know much about the character. So I'm reading about her to get familiar with her."

"That's p-pretty i-interesting! S-So you're an a-actress?" Lorelei inquired, hazel eyes momentarily flitting back to check on her friends before refocusing on the new friend infront of her.

~~~~~~~~~

"...So the rumors are false and Sagi is fine; what now?" Lytha asked.

"I told you I wanted to meet him, didn't I?" Caras said wryly. "Since you don't seem to know exactly when he'll be here, I'll just have to wait for serendipity to cross our paths."

"Well, he normally comes when I'm treating him to food."

"Oh? You do that often?" he asked with slight amusement. "I'm sure he must have a voracious appetite."

"He sure has a voracious appetite." Lytha sweatdropped.

Sagi folded her hands, quietly watching Caras talk to the group with relative ease, glad that he seemed to be settling into company quite smoothly.

"You obviously know him quite well," Caras said. "How did you two ever meet, anyway? Where does he live?"

"We met at the fountain in the town -- as to where he lives, I'm not sure, I never asked."

"The fountain? I'm assuming you mean the one by the cathedral," he said, growing pensive for a moment. "I may have to stop by there in the near future and see what that's all about."

"I wonder when Odin is coming in, he is normally here..." Lytha said. "So, Sagi, he is the one you mistook Odin for..."

Sagi nodded. "Yes... I immediately saw the resemblance."

Caras looked at her. "So you too are well acquainted with this boy Odin," he remarked. "Odd that you wouldn't mention something like that while we were talking earlier."

"Ah--! Well, I mean..." She looked a little flustered. "You two might be... very similar, but you're still two different people. And I'm sure this one has had many different experiences from you by now."

"All the more reason I must meet him sooner or later," he said somewhat thoughtfully. "I would like to know what these different experiences are."

"I'm pretty sure Odin would be kinda surprised to see an older version of him," Lytha giggled.

Sagi held her hand to her chest, looking at Caras. "Well, I've already talked with him about the one I knew from this world, so that you exist will not be news to him..." She tightened her lips. "But I'm sure it will shock him nonetheless, to actually meet him in person so suddenly."

Lytha noticed Lorelei talking to Marilee. "Hey! Mari! Why not join us? You too, Lorelei, come on back here."

"Wow, L-Lytha, you know a l-lot of p-people," Lorelei said nervously.

"I do know a lot of people," Lytha giggled.

Marilee smiled as she walked over to the group. "Hello!" she chirped.

Lorelei smiled tightly. "W-Well, a-actually, I'm going to s-step out and get s-some f-fresh air. I j-just remembered th-that, umm... my A-Auntie wanted me to b-bring home some f-flowers tonight, s-so..."

"Oh...okay?" Lytha said with confusion. "Take care, alright?"

"Y-You t-too," was Lorelei's reply before she all but turned tail and ran.


	107. In Which Lorelei Talks with Leo About Magic

After she had hastily left the conversation in the cafe, Lorelei headed out of Apollo's Cafe and into the town square, very visibly troubled. Leo had casually walking around town when Lorelei spotted him, and she smiled and waved, brightening up slightly. She hadn't talked to him much last time they met, but she remembered him being nice.

Leo noticed Lorelei waving at him. "Lorelei, hello. Is everything okay? You seem troubled."

"Umm, y-yes. K-Kind of? L-Lytha mentioned a f-few things that s-struck me as r-rather... strange. I d-don't quite kn-know how to w-wrap my head around it."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Leo asked.

Lorelei nodded, though somewhat uncertainly. "It was really s-strange. So s-she was talking with th-this boy with b-black hair--O-Odin, I th-think his name was--and s-she started t-talking about Herr D-Drosselmeyer, but th-then she said he w-wasn't dead, and then th-the black haired b-boy said s-something l-like, 'surely you noticed the magic in this town' -- I m-mean, y-yes, G-Goldkrone isn't _n-normal_ , but it s-sure isn't _magical_ b-by any means--" Lei huffed, gesturing frustratedly with her hands. "Th-that's all crazy, i-isn't it? It's i-impossible for s-someone dead to be a-alive."

Leo scratched his head. "Lorelei, magic is real in this town."

"H-Haha, Leo, th-that's very f-funny."

Leo sighed. "Follow me," he said, leading Lorelei to a quiet place. Lorelei followed Leo, albeit a little bit hesitantly. She had not woken up that morning thinking that this is what her day was going to come to.

"Watch carefully." Leo chanted a spell, and fire appeared in his hand.

Lorelei's eyes widened immensely as she stared at the fire in his hand. "Wh-What--h-how--wha--umm, I-uh, umm, th-this m-means--oh d-dear, I th-think--I th-think I n-need to s-sit d-down for a b-bit."

Leo snapped his fingers and a chair appeared in front of Lorelei.

Lorelei tried not to balk at the chair that appeared out of mid-air and sat down. "I-I've lived here f-for _s-six y-years of m-my life_ , L-Leo. I j-just don't u-understand -- how c-could G-Goldkrone be m-magic? Is th-this why...?" Lorelei trailed off as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Lorelei, I was born with magic, and this town has always had magic."

"B-Be a little p-patient with me, p-please. Th-This is all j-just..." She sighed. "D-Do you know a-about the o-origins of this town's m-magic? A-Are the other t-towns magical, t-too? Is this j-just a p-place with magic and I n-never realized it? Auntie d-doesn't have a-any magic."

"Not everyone was born with magic; most of the townspeople are normal people."

Lorelei let out a breath through her nose, closing her eyes pensively. "S-So, I t-take it that L-Lytha and that O-Odin boy weren't j-just p-playing a s-silly prank on me wh-when they s-said that Drosselmeyer is s-some weird m-magical dead m-man who just p-pops up whenever h-he feels l-like?"

Leo nodded his head.

"O-Okay," Lytha said. "Th-Then do you kn-know how f-far his magical i-influence e-extends? C-Can he a-affect places th-that are... n-not inside G-Goldkrone?" Lorelei inquired, choosing her last bit of wording carefully. All of this new (and hard to swallow) information aside, she wasn't quite yet ready to reveal her little detail quite yet.

"Drosselmeyer's magic only affects Goldkrone, as far as I know," Leo said.

Lorelei's eyes cast downwards. "I s-see, th-thank you. This is m-most... most helpful."

"Here, maybe this will make you feel better," Leo waved his hand and magical butterflies appeared, making the place look slightly magical.

Lorelei smiled, brightened slightly by the pretty butterflies. "Th-Thank you, L-Leo. They're v-very pretty. S-Say, can you k-keep a secret?" She figured that telling the apparent sorcerer of her little troubles wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. As long as he could, in fact, keep a secret.

"Sure, what is it?"

"S-So, I've b-been in Goldkrone for s-six years," Lei began. "E-Ever since I was t-ten years old. I l-live with my A-Auntie, but unm, sh-she's not really m-my Auntie. E-Emilia has been v-very kind to t-take me in. Sh-She thinks I'm an o-orphan, b-but, umm..." Lorelei bit her lip reluctantly. "When I s-say I'm n-not from Goldkrone, i-it's more l-like -- I'm n-not from _h-here_. When I was t-ten, I was w-with my b-brothers and m-my dad, he was t-taking us to this c-carnival in town. I-I was on my b-brother's shoulders, and th-then the n-next thing I-I knew, I-I was on the g-ground. In G-Goldkrone."

"So you are not from this dimension?" Leo asked.

"I d-don't think I am, n-no."

"It's okay, I can keep secrets."

"Th-Thank you, L-Leo. This i-isn't something I w-want to get o-out. I w-want to get b-back home so, so b-badly, but I'm not e-even sure how or wh-why I got here. A-And..." Lei trailed off for a moment. "I-I'm not sure h-how I could l-leave my Auntie b-behind. Sh-She doesn't have a-anybody else. If I w-were to d-disappear one day, I'm n-not sure how she'd h-handle it."

"Have you tried talking to your aunt?"

Lorelei laughed a bit sardonically. "N-No, I r-really don't th-think she'd b-believe me. Sh-She's the one who _r-raised_ me, Leo, a-and _I_ of all p-people very s-staunchly believed that m-magic was just for f-fairy tales up until th-three minutes a-ago."

"Well, it's better to talk it out with your aunt; you can't keep delaying it forever, Lorelei."

"C-Can't I...?" Lorelei let out an exhausted sigh. "I-I'm really not r-ready to b-bring it up t-to her. I m-mean, who is t-to say there e-even is a r-real way for me to g-get home? In th-that case, i-isn't it better that sh-she doesn't know?"

"But what if there was a way? Are you just going to keep quiet about it?" Leo asked. "Sooner or later, your aunt will know, Lorelei; this town is quite small, and gossip and rumors go around quick."

"N-Nobody knows but y-you and I. As l-long as you k-keep your promise and t-tell nobody, then n-nobody will know. I-I've kept this s-secret for s-six years. If I f-find a way to g-get back to my h-home dimension and see my p-papa and mama and b-brothers again, th-then I'll tell her. B-But for now, th-this is for the b-best."

Leo sighed. "As you wish."

Lorelei stood up, giving Leo a wan smile. "Th-Thank you L-Leo, you're a t-true friend. I a-appreciate your discretion."

"Come on, let me walk you home," Leo said, smiling at Lorelei.

Lorelei nods, gesturing in the direction of her Auntie's house. "Th-Thank you very much, I-I would a-appreciate that as w-well."

Leo walked Lorelei home, and after she had reached her home safely, waved her goodbye.


	108. In Which Odin Meets Caras

Upon seeing Lorelei hurriedly leave, Sagi covered her mouth for a moment. "Oh dear..."

Caras shrugged. "I think she has a few things she needs to straighten out before she gets too far in this town."

"Yep, we broke her..." Lytha sighed.

Walking toward her friends in the cafe, Marilee then stopped and noticed Caras, tilting her head a little. He looked... a lot like Odin...

Noting the newcomer's stare at him, Caras glanced at her and asked, "Let me guess. I look like someone you know."

Sagi glanced back at Marilee. "Oh, Marilee, umm... this is Odin -- but not the Odin you know. He's the one I knew, from before..."

He sighed. "To avoid confusion, you may call me Caras rather than my real name."

After Lorelei had gone well out of sight of the cafe, it was then that the young boy Odin walked up to the cafe door, not realizing who he would meet upon going in.

"Oh, Lytha, hi," he said, spotting her orange-red hair immediately. "And Sagi. And...." He trailed off as he spotted his literal other self sitting across the room from him. He was struck speechless for several moments.

"And we broke poor Odin here," Lytha giggled.

Odin pouted with frustration as he walked toward the redhead. "H-haha, very funny, Lytha. Out with it, what is this about?"

"Odin, this is Caras -- Caras, this is Odin," Lytha replied. "And Odin, I'm not pulling a prank."

"To be clear, my name is also Odin, but I'm letting you borrow that name, boy, seeing as you clearly knew these people first."

Lytha petted Odin on the head.

Poor Marilee was trying to process how this made sense, but she decided to not overthink it. She was from another world too, after all.... she really needed to tell them that.

Sagi stood up a little nervously. "Odin, let me explain -- remember when I was telling you about how I recognized you when I met you? Well, this is the one I knew -- the one from this world and time."

Odin blinked, the situation finally becoming clear to him. "...So you're... myself from this future," he said after a pause. "The one from this time..."

Caras's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment, seeing the expression on the boy's face change. But the serious look quickly fell off his face to a casual one again. "You look like you have something to say," he said wryly. "Out with it, then."

But Odin withdrew further, not meeting his older self's -- or anyone else's -- eyes. He grasped his hands, a serious look on his face. After a long pause, he broke his silence. "Well, if I have anything to say, I'd... I'd want to talk about it later," he said quietly. "Without other people around to listen in."

Marilee looked at her friend with worry in her eyes. "Odin...? Is everything okay?" she asked.

The serious look, while still somewhat veiled, did not leave Caras's expression this time. "It sounds as if you know," he said. "Of what transpired in this town, and how you have anything to do with it."

Odin did not answer, but his silence alone spoke volumes.

"......" Lytha sipped her coffee.

Marilee looked worried before she suddenly got up and went over to Odin before carefully moving to give him a hug, so as to not startle him and to show everything would be okay.

Odin backed away from the attempted hug. "No, I--I don't need a hug," he said, not unkindly. "This is something I already know." Not looking at her, he added, "But thanks for caring about me."

The small girl smiled and nodded. "You're welcome. We're friends, caw!" she chirped, smiling happily.

Caras observed his younger self's demeanor and interactions with others silently but intently, his expression becoming impassive with thought.

Lytha came back with some food and a drink for Odin, placing it in front of him.

Distracted by the food and drink, he didn't notice Caras's intent gaze and instead beamed at his newfound victuals. "Oh yeah! Treating me again, Lytha? You're the best!" he exclaimed, before he dug in.

Lytha giggled. "If you're still hungry, go ahead and order more -- I will pay for it."

Though he seemed to be focused solely on the food in front of him, he was noticeably avoiding to look at Caras, as if it were a matter he didn't want to deal with at the moment. Caras, on the other hand, rolled his eyes at his younger self's foodstuff antics. Lytha giggled at both Odins.

Marilee just smiled before she returned to studying for the play. She hugged herself a bit, since the hoodie Odin made for her was really warm and snug like a blanket.

Taking a closer look at this cawing girl's hoodie, he noticed something about it that caught his attention. "Where did you get that clothing?" he asked Marilee curiously.

Marilee stopped reading and looked up at Caras. "Odin made it for me. I had a hoodie similar to this, but it got ripped up badly."

"The boy made it for you, did he...?" he said, glancing back at the younger Odin, still gobbling down food. "Interesting..."

"Little Odin here is a very sweet boy; he even gave me this bracelet as a birthday gift," Lytha said, ruffling Odin's head and showing the bracelet.

At this, Caras had to hold back a laugh. "Of all the ways to describe him, I had never thought 'sweet' would be on the list -- not the one I remember."

"He is a sweet boy and a very caring one, too," Lytha added.

Odin was feeling a little awkward at being talked about in the third person, but the food plus his hesitance to confront his older self prevented him from speaking.

"What has he done that makes you think so?" he asked, looking at Lytha intently.

"Well, he is always there to protect me from any danger, even though his pranks can be a little too much."

Marilee went back reading, but then remembered something. "Oh, Odin! I found some dessert reciples if you want to try to make them!"

Odin swallowed the food in his mouth, wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and looked at Marilee with some excitement. "Oh really? Then sometime you gotta tell me when you're ready, so I can come over!"

Marliee happily nodded.

Sagi glanced back and forth between the two Odins, clasping her hands together with slight worry. She turned to Caras and asked quietly, "Caras? Are you all right with...?" Her eyes darted around her, as if to indicate the entire situation.

Caras shook his head almost carelessly. "What's there to be not all right about?" he asked her.

~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Crou stepped out of his portal after a pleasant visit with his friends back in his home world. The portal disappeared a moment later as if it knew Dr. Crou was done with it. After taking a moment to adjust, he noticed a new presence in the town.

_Strange... This magic is--!_ Dr. Crou was taken aback. He wondered if he was imagining things, but he knew for certain that it was the Raven's magic.

Why was he here? Didn't Sagi say that he was traveling about? The doctor took off his hat to better sense everyone else's whereabouts. He focused on the new source, which was pretty strong even with his hat on.

It was coming from the cafe, and a few others were there. A light blue magic, Sagi's. A rose shade, Lytha's. A white light...? Oh right, it was Marilee's. And finally a purple shade, Odin's.

He switched to his crow form and made his way over there. Might as well greet this world's Odin.

~~~~~~~~~

The windows shuddered a bit as if a strong gust of wind had past by. Then, some moments later, the cafe door rang open. A tall crow-headed man entered the cafe.

Lytha noticed Dr. Crou. "Dr. Crou, nice to see you."

Sagi gasped, looking behind her at Dr. Crou anxiously. "Oh! Umm... Dr. Crou, good afternoon..."

Before Marilee could tell Odin when he could come over, Dr. Crou had appeared. She smiled happily. "Hi, Dr. Crou, caw!"

Caras glanced at the newcomer, and with a slight raise of his eyebrows saw it was indeed another crow. "You know him?" he asked Sagi.

Sagi nodded slowly. "Yes, I've met him here a number of times, as well as around town. He also works here," she added, holding back her trepidation to talk normally.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Hanging out at the cafe, again?" Dr. Crou said a bit cheerfully. He brought out a small gift bag with some treats inside. "I brought these from my visit with Domo and Pati. They wanted you guys to have some."

"Oh, how nice of them. Please do join us, Crou," Lytha replied.

"Don't mind if I do." Dr. Crou said, casually walking over to the group. "I am but a humble waiter and good friend of the owner of this establishment."

He took a seat and turned his attention towards Sagi and Caras. If you could see him smile, Dr. Crou would have been wearing a mischievous one. "I didn't know there were more fledglings around these parts."

Pausing for a moment, he glanced up at the crow man. "Oh? If I'm a fledgling, then you're a newborn hatchling," Caras replied dryly.

Odin turned around to see Dr. Crou, and now was conflicted. He still had his mouth full, and while he normally would have quickly swallowed and said hi, the clash of wanting to talk to Dr. Crou and not wanting to talk to Caras made him freeze up awkwardly when the two began speaking with each other.

Dr. Crou chuckled. "Heheh, that could be true. Considering I was created unconventionally."

"You don't say?" Caras said with mild interest. "I don't remember seeing you in this town before -- I would have known if you had."

"I have only moved here a few months back. I felt Kinkan was a nice town to stay in, compared to the city where I was from." Dr. Crou motioned for one of the staff to make him his coffee. Then he brought his attention back to Caras. "I am pretty sure you would have known me if we did meet before," he laughed. "I know a bit of this town's history after all."

"A bit?" he asked, looking at him intently.

Sagi pursed her lips, clasping her hands together, wondering if she should say anything, but coming up blank. Lytha placed a hand on top of Sagi's hand and smiled at her, signaling that everything will be fine.

"I mean, we are both corvids after all. Seems like the town had it pretty rough with the strange story spinning in this town."

The waiter came by with some hot coffee and a sugar tray. Dr. Crou nodded to thank them, and then changed the subject. "But enough about that, that story had ended. Sagi, why don't you introduce me to this young man who looks just like Odin?" The doctor ruffled little Odin's hair as he said that.

Caras watched this with the same intent attention he had when Odin talked with others shortly prior.

"Oh! Umm... Dr. Crou, this is... Odin, the one I knew in this town before I found the cafe. We've been calling him Caras though to make it less confusing," she said a little sheepishly.

"Charmed, I'm sure," Odin said with mild wryness, standing up and seemingly out of decorum, offered his hand to shake.

Dr. Crou chuckled again out of nowhere, then taking the other's hand for a firm shake. "Likewise."

After the handshake, Caras sat back down. "You're a waiter here. Am I to presume this is your day off, or are you going to start your shift soon?"

Lytha sipped her coffee, watching the two.

"It's my day off. I requested some time to visit some friends back home." Dr. Crou also sat back down and took a sip of his coffee.

"And home is...?" Caras asked expectantly.

"In Japan." He sipped again casually. At this point, he would rather talk about things from his end than about Caras, considering Lytha and Marilee were still sitting with them.

Lytha looked at her pocketwatch and stood up. "I best be going; I have a appointment with one of the customers." Lytha turned to Caras. "It was nice meeting you, Caras. Bye Sagi, Odin, and Crou," Lytha ruffled Odin hair as she walked out.

"See you later, Miss Lytha," Dr. Crou said after her.

"See you around, Lytha," Sagi said, waving softly.

Caras replied with a simple, "Farewell."

Marilee closed her playbook and smiled. She was about to ask Crou how Japan was, when one of her classmates barged in suddenly.

"MARI! PLAY! PRACTICE! NOW!" the girl frantically said, before grabbing Marilee and running out of the cafe.

A little startled, Sagi waved again hesitantly, "See you, Marilee...?"

By this point, Odin had gone through the entire plate and was now slowly sipping the rest of his drink. He was still staring at the empty plate, almost intently, as if he were trying to figure out what to say.

"So..." Dr Crou broke the silence with the single word. "I didn't want to say the truth out loud because those two didn't actually know my true origins. Let me start again. I was visiting my friends back home, which is in another dimension."

"I see..." Caras said, pondering that for a moment. "It seems this new oddity of the town extends to more than just this one here," he gestured over at Odin. "Other worlds, other times... seemingly some while after I left."

"Yes. We also have a time-traveling dimension hopper too, if you wanted to meet him. Be warned, he flirts."

Caras's eyebrow raised wryly. "A character, it sounds." Almost pointedly, he turned to Odin and said, "Boy--well." He hesitated, pursing his lips, then said, "Odin, where is it exactly you live? Do you return to your own world on a regular basis?"

Odin blinked at the direct address, and was still turned away from the conversation as he replied, "...Yeah. There's this portal around the church area that disappears and reappears for me at will." Odin frowned. "Loki and Frigg are usually with me, but it was their turn to keep watch, so I had to come here alone today."

"Huh, so that's why they weren't with you today," the doctor mused aloud.

While Caras made little outward reaction, Sagi could sense that the mention of those names had given him pause.

"What brought it up?" Sagi asked him. "Was it the talk of all the dimension traveling?"

"Yes, though I wanted to know if he had come from the same place I had," he replied. "And... at what point."

Dr. Crou sat there silently. He wasn't sure how to approach this subject, considering much had been altered and if it was wise to share all that had transpired.

"If you wanna know," Odin suddenly spoke, sitting up in his chair but still not looking at them. "I first came here when I was trying to figure out what to do with that soldier's heart. And my friends, Loki, Frigg, Dr. Crou -- they helped me solve the problem, even risking their lives to do it."

Perhaps it was well and good that Odin wasn't looking his way, as Caras's full intense attention was now aimed at him. "...That sounds familiar," he said calmly. "Is there a particular reason you brought that up now?"

Odin clasped his hands together, which were shaking ever so slightly. "...Because that's not what happened for you, right?"

Dr. Crou sat still with his arms folded across his chest, but his body was tense and on guard. He knows this other older Odin he does not know is someone Sagi trusts. But he couldn't help but feel protective when both Odins were talking to each other.

Caras leaned on his arm, still staring intently in Odin's direction. "No. It didn't go that way for me. But it sounds as if you already know what _did_ happen," he replied with that same calm tone. "That's the entire reason you can't even look me in the eye right now."

Almost on rebellious impulse, Odin's head pricked up ever so briefly, but before he could meet anyone's eyes, he faltered again. "N-No, that's not it," he objected half-heartedly. "It's just... there's some things I wanna know, things that only you would know."

"Odin..." Dr Crou said softly. He wasn't sure what the boy was going to do.

Odin exhaled, steeling himself for whatever was to come. He turned around in his chair, finally looking directly at Caras with an almost desperate assertion of his words. "Why--! Why did you do all of that?! Why did my -- your -- friends die because of you? What was it all for?! And...."

He tightened his lips, as if squeezing his words out from them. But the words came out softly, "...how did you come back from all of that?" He glanced away, as if he couldn't really stand staring at his older self while waiting for a response.

Caras sat there, blinking. Then he chuckled ever so quietly. "Why? It's simple, Odin -- by ridding the world of that heart, I threw my own away in the process. Bit by bit, piece by piece -- the pain was great enough that I didn't want to feel anymore. And when that happened -- my friends meant nothing to me. Not anything but the hearts I kept consuming."

Odin glanced back at Caras tentatively. "...So then... how are you...?"

"How did I come back? That's a simple answer as well, Odin -- the corroded parts of my heart had been restored. But that wasn't the hard part. No, the hard part was realizing the truth of what happened. What I was truly looking for all this time..." he said, looking pensive. "That what I was, I didn't truly wish to be. So I simply decided I was going to be something else from then on. That's all it was."

" 'That's all'...?" Odin said in disbelief. "This isn't simple at all..." He bit his lip. "I still don't really understand it entirely."

Caras closed his eyes with a gentle smirk. "It is well that you don't. To fully understand it is to nigh traverse the path yourself. And after all of what you've accomplished, I don't think you want to undo all of that, do you?"

"It's okay, Odin." Dr. Crou turned to the little crow, his words gentle but seemed to hold much understanding. "You will eventually understand, even if it's only a tiny bit of what had happened. Life has an interesting way of showing the pain of others to us in one way or another. Showing how connected we all are, whether it's an altered timeline or another dimension. You still have much ahead of you."

Furrowing his brow, Odin merely nodded at Dr. Crou. Then, after a moment, he turned to Caras and said, "Well, either way... if even after all of that, this is where you end up..." He glanced away, unable to boldly say it, but say it anyway he must. "...things still turn out okay in the end."

Caras's eyes widen slightly, seeming surprised at his younger self's statement. But in response, he exhaled, and with that same gentle smirk, said, "Perhaps. We'll see."


	109. In Which Lucy Meets Caras and Sagi

A day or two later, Sagi and Caras were at the cafe again, catching up on their respective lives from the last times they had seen each other, completely at ease in each other's company.

"And so you're saying that some people's memories seem inconsistent with one another?" he asked. "Though no pattern as far as you can see?"

Sagi nodded, a finger at her chin. "Yes, that's right. It usually centers around the existence of Drosselmeyer, or else the events that happened when the story started. But even then, it seemed different for each person I asked..."

"Putting that together with the odd dimensional portals, I can see why you'd be at least a little concerned about what's going on," Caras said. "And from my travels, I haven't heard of such incongruities outside of the town, so it's obviously to do with Kinkan itself. But as for whether it's cause for further concern..." He sighed. "From what you've told me, more strife has been caused here by humans and their indiscretions lately, rather than anything otherworldly. So it's difficult to say what danger we might be facing from that, if any."

"I know I don't have much to go off of," Sagi admitted. "The fact that I've just been going to school like normal goes to show how little it's affected my everyday life. So I suppose it could be nothing..."

"I would have deemed you foolish if you hadn't suspected something like you have," Caras replied pointedly. "Lack of information doesn't mean nothing's there. Unfortunately, it's that know very little of where to look. Case in point, the cafe we're in right now--" He tossed his head indicating the surroundings. "--was the one where you first discovered these strange things, and the fact that the cafe itself likely appeared here in an extraordinary way. And quite obviously, this cafe is not terrorizing the town or being a general menace -- or even really doing anything unusual other than being a cafe."

"Right..." Sagi nodded slowly. "Though perhaps it means something that people who seem involved in these extradimensional quirks gather here on a regular basis." She looked pensive. "One might almost wonder if the strings of destiny were tying us all together, somehow..."

"I'm less concerned about said tying and more of, whose hands are on the strings," Caras said. "If Drosselmeyer is involved, I have an old man to toss around, but curiously enough, the only time I've heard even a mention of Drosselmeyer's presence is that incident with the girl Lytha and her friend Autor, along with several other regulars here, including young Odin as it were. And it was to _break_ a curse he caused, not cause a new one? That baffles me almost as much as the dimensional leakages."

Sagi's brow furrowed. "I couldn't give you any further thoughts on that, I'm sorry -- it confuses me as much as it does you, and I think you know more than I do about all this."

Caras sat back in his chair. "Well, then allow me to make some speculations. Since we have already the same person here from different points of time and people from entire other universes mingling here, I venture to say that it is just the same with this Drosselmeyer -- the one they met that day was, in fact, not the Drosselmeyer from this world at all. The one originating from this world is still just as missing as he was before."

Sagi's eyes widened. "Another... Drosselmeyer? One from another world? Do you really think that could be...?"

"Or another point in time, perhaps. He was clearly similar enough to the one we know that they could tell little difference. But it sounds as if he spoke of things that hadn't happened or things that didn't make sense in context, and that could well be explained by him being from a place where things happened differently."

The door opened and the bell rang. Lucy stepped in, but just when she did so, she felt an extreme shock. Was it the curse flaring back up?

...It didn't feel like it. It was a feeling she was not able to describe. It was so familiar, but different.

Sagi heard the bell ring, and turned toward the door to see Lucy coming in the entrance. "Oh, hello, Lucy," Sagi said with a gentle nod. "I hope you're doing all right today."

"Hey, Sagi. I'm doing good."

As Lucy entered, Caras silently noted the Raven's curse she had still emanating from her, but made no outward mention of it.

Lucy glanced at Caras briefly with some shock, but quickly becoming normal again. It's not every day that you see a future version of somebody you know sitting in a café.

Sensing her confusion, Sagi stood up and introduced him, "You haven't met him yet -- well, not this one, anyway," she said apologetically, "so um, this is Odin -- the Odin I knew back from when I first came here, before we met that child Odin. We also call him Caras to avoid confusion, though."

Caras simply nodded in greeting from his seat.

"Nice to meet you then, Caras," she said, with a light nod. But... this feeling still remained. It felt like she was about to have another of her vicious feelings -- but, this time, it was stronger and she felt more self-assured about it. With her eyes starting to dimly glow, she sat down.

Sagi's gaze lingered on Lucy as she suddenly recalled the day at the school fountain where Lucy had the same look on her face. Knowing that she hadn't really wanted to talk about it before, she paused as Lucy sat down at a nearby table, considering her next words.

"...I don't mean to pry, but... are you sure you don't want my help with anything...?" Sagi asked hesitantly. "When I had said that to you before, I meant it. If there's nothing I can do, though, I'll leave you alone..."

"It's just... the last few days were complicated," she said, her eyes seeming to fade into a more muted red.

"Complicated...?" Sagi asked. "Did something troubling happen, Lucy?"

Lucy was silent for a moment, carefully thinking about what she was about to say. Finally, she decided to say... "Not recently, but yes. I...have some problems, indeed."

Sagi's brow furrowed with worry. "Do you... want to talk about them?"

Lucy sighed. "Why, yes. I think I am ready to talk about it now. You see, in recent times, I've been battling my own demons. And it seems that I could lose the battle."

The tone of her voice was... happy, but undeniably negative as well. As if she wouldn't know herself what mood she was in. "I felt insecure recently, and while I am doing my best to fix my problems, they still linger. Heh... life can be stressful when you feel like you ain't human."

"Not human...?" Sagi asked. It came to her mind that in truth, neither of the two sitting there with Lucy were humans either, but there wasn't any reason to bring that up...

But it was here that Caras chose to speak up. "To be frank, being human isn't all that wonderful anyway," he said seemingly casually, though he was studying Lucy from the side of his eyes. "But I don't think the state of your humanity is the exact reason for your troubles anyway, is it?"

"Tell me about it. Humans can be cruel, some holding on to pathetic beliefs, even. But that's not the point..." Lucy said. "The point is, there were rumors. I am certain you have heard of the rumor regarding your past self. Because of such rumor, townspeople went after him and almost would have gotten him. This horribly backfired for them, for a raven girl had come to the scene and saved him."

"Yes, Sagi also mentioned that a short while ago," he replied, glancing at Sagi briefly. "A raven girl no one had seen before appeared to aid him. It was something I even heard about from outside town in brief snippets."

"She's been quite the mystery since then. Just recently, there's been a conversation of if we'll see her again. And unfortunately, I am convinced we have not seen the last of her. After all... I am not able to foresee when I will spread my wings once again."

Sagi was silent for a moment. "So... it was you, after all," she said quietly. "I had suspected, but... I suppose things have gotten more serious."

Caras crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "That would explain the Raven's influence on you I sense."

"I...did not intend to hurt these people. I lost control, somehow, and I can only be sorry about what I've done. Why did this happen to me?"

"The influence of the Raven's blood takes root in the hearts of humans and does not let go," Caras said. "Its very nature is anguish and suffering. To ask why you suffer is to ask why all humans suffer. The only difference is that power is gathered from it."

"Considering that I have gotten power from it, it makes sense, yet... its origin is the Raven; then, why did he place this curse upon me?"

"I imagine you must have done something to anger him -- or if not you, then someone close to you," Caras said impassively.

Lucy thought about this. What could have she done? She did not remember angering the Raven in any way... though, her mother seemed to have talked with a demon's voice -- presumably the Raven in her past. Were the results of this the reason for the Raven's anger?

"All I remember is how my mother had...talked to a demon's voice in the past, presumably the Raven. Might the result of this be the reason for what happened to me?"

Caras looked at her calmly. "You've answered your own question."

"I guess finding out of what it was will be near impossible. Considering my mother did..."

She was silent for a short time, then sighed. "...It is still hard to believe that she is gone."

Lucy then suddenly wrapped the topic of her mother up, seemingly not wanting to talk any further about this.

Either way, I suppose I do understand the concept of the Raven's blood now. I've been trying my best to control it, though...it seems very difficult. But I need to do it... I don't want to hurt anyone else -- especially the ones dear to me..."

Caras exhaled. "In that case, I will simply say that I've seen others face it and triumph before. Perhaps if you are as strong as they are, you might as well."

Sagi folded her hands, and at Caras's statement, she nodded slightly, as if in agreement. "Knowing is half the battle. I'm sure you can get there, Lucy."

Lucy nodded. "Thank you, Sagi. I hope so as well." She sighed again, now in relief. She had confessed right here and right now, she had spoken her mind and felt better now.

"Either way, enough of me. How did you two meet, if I'm allowed to ask?"

Caras raised an eyebrow. "Well, there's no reason you _can't_ ask."

Sagi touched a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "The first time we met... it was by the dorm fountain, wasn't it? We were talking about, of all things, solitude..."

Caras closed his eyes. "Yes. Back then I was... quite preoccupied with something else. Our meeting was incidental, a coincidence."

"And at some point, you left town, but returned for a short stay because of these rumors and I'd assume to visit Sagi?"

"That's the short of it," Caras replied.

"Well, you definitely seem to be very close friends, that's why I was asking," Lucy said.

Sagi then seemed oddly flustered. "Umm... I see. I... suppose we have been through a lot together. Do we, er... really seem that close?" she asked, genuinely confused.

Caras looked at her with a wry smirk. "Miss Sagi, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were taken aback by that question," he remarked. "Do you have any reason to _doubt_ that?"

"Ah! No, of course not!" Sagi said, becoming a little more flustered. "I mean, I felt like I didn't know you before, and sometimes I feel like I don't really know you even now. But I suppose that doesn't mean we're not close...?" she said, now looking a little embarrassed.

Caras sighed. "You _know_ I jest," he said, relenting. Turning to Lucy, he added, "To answer your question, yes, we're close friends. As for anything other than that... such is undetermined as of now."

Sagi glanced at him curiously, a little puzzled about the way he put that. But never being the type to pry, she didn't make any further comment.

"Hehe, well, I understand," Lucy replied.

After their orders finally arrived, the three of them chatted about more inconsequential topics, with Sagi increasingly relieved that Caras was starting to open himself up more. Even if his response about them being close had confused her a little...


	110. In Which Aunt Emilia Encounters Lucy

Emilia strolled through the town square, her niece trailing behind her. Both women carried bags of groceries in their arms, having just finished their shopping. Emilia clicked her tongue at the setting sun, as if it was early, and she was not late getting home to prepare dinner.

Just as fate -- or plot convenience -- calls for it, Lucy and Selene were talking about some minor, not really unusual stuff. It was right then when the topic of Prince Alex came up, something both started to treat as a fun topic.

"That 'wannabe' prince was just a typical person of harsh words without a real threat behind them. Lytha recently had told me that she visited Alex in prison and obviously, he was sorry about everything," Selene said.

"Why did I expect this? Behaves like he's a big deal and then is pleading for mercy once he is on his knees," Lucy said. "You know, I actually got over the fact that he was an idiot...though it is still a fun topic to bring up. He's out of reach either way. His pride is probably not even broken, he's probably as stubborn as before, but do you expect anything else from somebody who hired people to hurt the ones around his loved one?"

"Even when the loved one does not want to have anything to do with him in any way," Selene said.

"Yeah. Blind, one-sided love. The one thing which will never build up to a relationship. Quite...foolish, I'd say," Lucy replied.

Emilia narrowed her eyes at the girls across the square. How indecent and insubordinate of them to speak of royalty in such a manner. She was glad she raised Lorelei to be a proper young lady, as so many village girls these days seemed to lack the grace and etiquette that they ought to have.

Lorelei noticed her Aunt's expression and let out a sigh. "Auntie, p-please don't. They have th-their own mothers to s-scold them."

"You're right," Selene said to Lucy. "You know, I cannot believe I'm talking this normally to you after finding out what happened. It's very strange."

"Hell, we're friends, close ones even. Of course I'd talk normally to you. You think I'd brood the whole time?" Lucy paused. "...I did actually...but not now. Though I'd like to keep my...other side away for now."

However, Emilia was already sweeping across the square with the aura of a strict governess, leaving her niece to trail behind her worriedly. Emilia approached the two girls with a raised eyebrow. "Excuse me, young ladies, I must ask if the pair of you ever learned any manners."

Lorelei suppressed a horrid groan. She hated when her Auntie did this. However, she stayed silent. Hopefully these two knew to just apologize and move on.

Lucy was kind of confused, but then answered. "Yes, we did learn manners. However, you see, there are some people who you just can't be well mannered about all the time."

"You young people are always full of excuses, excuses! My Lorelei would never speak so ill of royalty. Didn't your mothers teach you any sense of propriety? I think not."

With that, Lorelei was out. She fled into the nearest shop, shouting an excuse about wanting a new hat. She just couldn't bear the embarrassment.

Lucy was just in an "inner facepalm" mood. "It's a prince who threatened to kill people -- and almost had one of his men do so. Do you think I'm gonna respect such a person?"

"Uh, I think we should let this be--" Selene began.

Emilia clicked her tongue and shook her head condescending at the girl. "I expect you to respect authority, child, no matter their actions. It isn't your station. What would your mother say, having such a rebellious and ill-tempered girl? Oh my."

Lucy's confused expression suddenly turned neutral -- the type that meant "something's going to happen".

"Uh oh. I know that expression and...you just should let this be, ma'am..." Selene said.

Emilia continued, looking down her nose at the two girls. "Don't you presume to tell me how to act, girl. I'm not frightened of petulant children."

Selene sighed with a "well, that's your problem now" tone. "Ah well."

After that, Selene just left. Fast.

And then a strong wind suddenly started to blow. Seconds after, the blade of a scythe was being held right in front of Emilia's throat.

Emilia stood her ground, though if one looked closely enough, she had flinched at the appearance of the scythe. "Throwing a tantrum now, are we?"

Lucy--no, Lilith's eyes were glowing a crimson red, and along with the changes to the appearance, one could assume she was not just throwing a tantrum -- no, it rather looked like she was possessed by a demon.

It was at this moment Lorelei exited the shop she had fled into -- which just so happened to be a sweets shop. She now was snacking on a delicious cake pop. Her cake pop fell to the ground however, when she beheld the pickle her Aunt had gotten herself into. Really? Magic??

"You selfish..." She gripped the scythe tighter. There was no sugarcoating it. One move with the scythe and Emilia's existence would have come to an end.

Emilia didn't stay anything, simply quirking an eyebrow at the Raven Princess. However, there was a great amount of fear in the woman's eyes -- there was no hiding that.

Lorelei rushed forward, eyes wild as she grabbed her aunt, dragging her slightly away from the scythe. "I'm s-so sorry f-for however m-my Aunt o-offended you, but p-please d-don't kill h-her! Sh-she's old!"

"She's..." Lilith began.

Then she realized. This is what she wanted to try to avoid and now, she was about to take someone's life from her own emotional reasons.

Lilith's angry expression turned into a fragile, sad expression. The scythe disappeared in raven feathers. "No. This is not worth it. It is not worth it to hurt you. It would not be fair to end the life of someone who is loved. I..." She flinched a little. "...I wouldn't want any girl to endure the same pain I felt. Forgive me."

With that being said, the storm of feathers blew through, and Lilith disappeared, once again, without any trace.

"Oh dear, I suppose she didn't have a mother, did she?" A look of guilt flooded the woman's face as she embraced her niece. "I'm so sorry for causing you trouble, my flower. I feel terrible for bringing that girl's mother up. The poor child, of course she lacks manners."

Lorelei sighed, but hugged her aunt back. "Th-this is why I t-tell you to n-not scold r-random people, Auntie! You n-never know who is o-orphaned. I d-don't have a m-mother either, y-you know."

Emilia clicked her tongue and kissed her niece's forehead. "That's where you're wrong, child. Come along now, Lorelei. We still need to make dinner. I do hope that girl has a home to go back to."

The two returned home, both a little shaken from the events that just occurred.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Within the Storm: a RP backstory](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24459982) by [magiaburst](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magiaburst/pseuds/magiaburst)
  * [Raven's Quest](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23258995) by [SquiddlesScribbles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquiddlesScribbles/pseuds/SquiddlesScribbles)




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